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William Carey College
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WOMEN TORCH- BEARERS
The Story of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union
V ELIZABETH PUTNAM GORDON
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Evanston, Illinois
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Copyright, 1924
by
National Woman's Christian Temperance Union
Dedicated to the home-loving and progressive
members of the Woman's Christian Temperance
Union. Their activities for fifty years have made
possible a Golden History and a Golden Prophecy.
FOREWORD
A Bible seer must have included The Woman's Christian Temper-
ance Union in his prophetic utterance when he declared "The women
that publish the tidings are a great host," For fifty years a multitude
of American white ribbon women have proclaimed the gospel of total
abstinence, purity, peace and prohibition and are now sending to trie
ends of the earth the glad tidings of national victory over the thraldom
of the liquor traffic.
In writing "The Story of the Woman's Christian Temperance
Union," the historian could include only such names and statistics
as are needed to make the account graphic and helpful. Principles and
facts are emphasized that the oncoming generation may catch the
spirit of the marching mothers of the Crusade and realize the high
historic points of the national and international growth of the Wom-
an's Christian Temperance Union. One of the outstanding results
of the education, agitation and organization of the Woman's Chris-
tian Temperance Union, from Crusade to Jubilee days, is the steady
growth of public opinion in support of the fundamental principles of
total abstinence for the individual and prohibition for the state and
nation. Hence, it is essential to the history of the W. C. T. U. that
high authorities in science, social economy, the church and the govern-
ment should be cited. This is as joyous a feature of the story of
fifty years as is the victorious culmination in the writing of the
Eighteenth and Nineteenth Amendments.
The phenomenal history of fifty years cannot be compressed into
one volume. A chronological summary given in the Appendix furn-
ishes dates and data for handy reference. Fortunately the names of
hundreds of noteworthy white ribboners who nobly and ably laid the
foundations of the National W. C. T. U. are given in state histories,
in state and national annual reports. The Union Signal, and in The
Brief History prepared by Katharine Lent Stevenson. May we not
reverently say that they are also recorded in "The Manuscript of God."
The book is published under the direction of a sub-committee of the
National W. C. T. U. Jubilee committee.
E. P. G.
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2010 with funding from
Lyrasis IVIembers and Sloan Foundation
http://www.archive.org/details/womentorchbearerOOgord
CHAPTER Contents
PAGE
I The Woman's Crusade 1
II Mobilization and Organization 13
III The Fight for a Clear Brain 30
IV The World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union 59
V Legislative Achievements 86
VI Patriotism and War Prohibition 112
VII The Eighteenth Amendment; Allegiance to the
Constitution 133
VIII The Nineteenth Amendment 162
IX Our Golden Jubilee 176
X A Golden History; A Golden Prophecy 214
Appendix: Chronological Summary 246
ILLUSTRATIONS
Hold High the Torch Frontispiece
Facing Page
Crusaders of Hillsboro, Ohio, December, 1873, praying in front of a Saloon 3
Annie Wittennoyer, Eliza Thompson, Mother Stewart, Zerelda Wallace 8
Frances E. Willard 16
Esther Pugh, Lillian M. N. Stevens, Caroline B. Buell, Frances E. Willard,
Mary A. Woodbridge 23
Campaigning in Colorado, in 1924
Pioneering in Montana, in 1883 27
First verse of "Saloons Must Go"
A facsimile of Frances E. Willard's original copy 33
Mrs. Hannah J. Bailey, Mrs. Anna S. Benjamin, Mrs. Edith Smith Davis,
Mrs. Adelia E. Carman, Mrs. J. K. Barney, Mrs. Sallie Chapin, Mrs.
Emilie D. Martin, Mrs. Mary H. Hunt, Miss Elizabeth W. Greenwood 36
Lillian M. N. Stevens 43
Clara C. Hoffman, Susanna M. D. Fry, Helen M. Barker, Louise S. Rounds,
Katharine Lent Stevenson, Frances E. Beauchamp, Elizabeth P. Hutchin-
son, Mary Clement Leavitt, Mary T. Lathrap 55
The Lady Henry Somerset, Mrs. Margaret Bright Lucas, Rosalind, Countess
of Carlisle.
World's W. C. T. U. Petition to the Governments of the World 60
Miss A. Amy Spalding, Miss Christine I. Tinling, Madame Kaji Yajima,
Miss Hardynia K. Norville, Miss Flora E. Strout, Mrs. Frances Willard
Wang Liu 82
Margaret Dye Ellis.
Part of the National W. C. T. U. Legislative Headquarters, Washington, D. C. ;
Mrs. Lenna Lowe Yost placing a W. C. T. U. Allegiance Enrollment Card
in one of the filing cases 87
Medal presented by the French government, in gratitude for distinguished
W. C. T. U. war relief service, to Miss Leila M. Sewall.
The Georgia W. C. T. U. War Service Flag. The Stars represent sons,
husbands and brothers of white ribboners.
National W. C. T. U. Ambulance used in war service in France 119
W. C. T. U. Mother-Child Center, Detroit, Michigan.
Children of W. C. T. U. Americanization Center, St. Louis, Missouri 151
Mrs. Cull a J. Vayhinger, Mrs. Deborah Knox Livingston, Mrs. Frances W.
Graham, Mrs. Mary Harris Armor, Catharine Waugh McCuIloch ....15S
General Officers National W. C. T. U., 1924:
Anna A. Gordon, President; Ella A. Boole, Vice-President; Frances P.
Parks> Corresponding Secretary; Elizabeth P. Anderson, Recording
Secretary; Sara H. Hoge, Assistant Recording Secretary; Margaret C.
Munns, Treasurer 176
Distribution of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union in the United
States ; each dot represents a local union 183
Willard Fountain, Lincoln Park, Chicago, Illinois; W. C. T. U. Float,
Waterbun,', Connecticut 215
Historic Rest Cottage, The Willard, National W. C. T. U. Administration
Building 217
Editors of The Union Signal: Harriet B. Kells, Julia F. Deane, Clara C.
Chapin. Marv Bannister Willard, Margaret Sudduth, Julia A. Ames,
Mar}' Allen West, Cornelia T. Hatcher 221
Mary B. Ervin and The Loyal Temperance Legion 231
Frances J. Barnes, Maude B. Perkins, Grace Leigh Scott, Charlotte B.
Eraser; Young People's Branch Field Day in New York 233
Statue of Frances E. Willard in Statuary Hall, Washington, D. C 237
Hold High the Torch
CHAPTER I
The Woman's Crusade
In the annals of history, December 17, 1917, is an epochal victory
date. There was enacted that day in the Capital City of the United
States one of the greatest moral, economic and legislative triumphs
of the world. By a more than two-thirds vote the House of Represen-
tatives of the Sixty-fifth Congress passed a resolution submitting to the
states a National Constitutional Prohibition Amendment — the
Eighteenth. The Senate concurred. Ratification by three-fourths of
the states occurred. On January 29, 1919, the Acting Secretary of
State, Hon. Frank Lyon Polk, issued a proclamation declaring prohibi-
tion of the liquor traffic a part of the fundamental and organic law
of the land. The law went into effect on January 16, 1920.
On that memorable day of decision, December 17, 1917, the
friends and foes of prohibition crowded the galleries of the House
of Representatives. Mother-hearted women and women masterly in
leadership were there. From Maine to California, from the Great
Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, they had come. \Vhat had been their
part in the setting of such a marvelous scene — a picture worthy to be
etched on a Heavenly canvas? Who were these womanly women
representative of all that is best in the home and church? They were
the members of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union organized
in every state and territory, an organization that for over forty years
had been waging a peaceful war against the most relentless enemy of
the home, the legalized liquor traffic.
"In the beginning," in the winter of 1873-1874, there were brave,
home-loving Crusaders, the mothers and grandmothers of these present-
day white ribboners assembled December 17, 1917, in Washington,
D, C. God heard the sorrowful, appealing cry of suffering women
and children that went up from countless homes. He called to the
defense of helpless humanity his last reserves — the mothers, wives,
sisters and daughters. With mighty power the Crusade swept over
the land. How little the women realized that it was the genesis of
the Federal protection of the home and the Federal emancipation of
women. This revolt of American womanhood against the legalized
liquor traffic was one of the greatest moral upheavals of the nineteenth
century.
Women Torch-bearers
In her Crusade classic, written in 1895, Frances E. Willard gives
this pen picture of the leader of the Crusade:
"Every whirlwind has its first leaf; for the laws of motion oblige
it to begin somewhere in particular. Other leaves are gathered in so
rapidly that it is usually impossible to tell which one stirred first; but
whichever that one was, with it the whirlwind began. The 'Ohio
Crusade' has passed into history; the 'Ohio Crusaders' have won an
inextinguishable fame. The 'Women of the West,' who led the
'Whisky War,' as it is called through the British Empire, gained for
themselves, without intending it, the pioneer place in that great Wom-
an's Temperance Movement that now belts the globe. The whirlwind
of the Lord began in the little town of Hillsboro, on the twenty-third
of December, 1873. There the pentecost of God descended, and sev-
enty women, without the slightest preconcerted plan, lifted their hands
as silent witnesses, when asked by the good ministers and the famous
lecturer. Dr. Dio Lewis, if they were willing to go out from their
homes and pray in the places where their husbands, sons, and brothers
were tempted to their ruin. There the Crusade Psalm was read; a
rallying cry, 'Give to the Winds thy Fears,' was sung ; and the first
silent, prayerful procession of wives and mothers moved along Ohio
streets. The gentle-hearted woman whom they chose as their leader
by spontaneous acclamation was one whose heart had been chastened
by glorious discipline and sorrow. Away back in 1836, she had ac-
companied her father, then an Ohio delegate to the National Temper-
ance Convention held in Saratoga, New York, and when, at his re-
quest, she went with him to the door of the hotel dining-room, which
afforded ample accommodation for all the delegates in that rudimentary
period of the movement, and he asked her to enter with him, Elizabeth
Thompson, who was a girl of but twenty years, naturally hesitated,
saying to her stout-hearted sire: 'Why father, I am afraid to go in.
I looked through the door, and there were no women present, only
men.' Upon this the governor exclaimed: 'Come right along with
me; my daughter must never be afraid in a good cause'! And taking
her by the arm, he introduced the first woman who ever entered a
National Temperance Convention. Who shall say that in this scene
— how much more worthy of a painter than most of the subjects that
they choose! — we have not a prophecy of what was to transpire nearly
forty years later in the town of that sweet girl's nativity? Ancestry
The Woman's Crusade
counts for much, and it should never be forgotten, in our study of
heredity, that the leader of the Crusade came of a long line of devout
Christian ancestors, whose earlier history dated back to Virginia, that
famous state which was the home of George Washington, and is
known in history as the 'Mother of Presidents.'
"Hillsboro is the cradle, even as Washington Court-house is the
crown of the Crusade. So far as I can learn, the women of Hillsborc
put forward no claim, nor did their leader. Perhaps, this was because
there was no need for them to do so; and to my mind, the strongest
confirmation of their deserved pre-eminence is the quiet, gentle, peace-
making spirit that they have shown from the beginning. For my part,
I can testify that it has only been 'by the hardest' that her comrades
have been able to induce Mrs. Thompson to come forward and gently
take her place as 'leader of the first Praying Band.' On some notable
occasions, this typical woman of the home, the church and school has
stood forth as a historic figure. Who of us, whose lot has been cast
as an officer or delegate to the National Convention since the begin-
ning, can forget the genial, smiling presence and piquant words of that
Crusade mother whom we all love so much? To hear her tell the
story of the way in which the movement broke out in Hillsboro is an
experience to be cherished for a lifetime. Her quaint, refined pres-
ence; her mild, motherly face, framed in its little cap; her soft voice;
her peculiar manner of utterance, combining remarkable originality
with the utmost gentleness and good breeding; her inimitable humor;
and, most characteristic of all, her deep, abiding faith in God and in
humanity, — all these have made an indelible impression, and helped,
beyond what we can at all estimate, to form the character of the White
Ribbon Movement. Naturally of a conservative disposition, Mrs.
Thompson has, nevertheless, kept time to the company's music; she has
taken every wave of the enrolling tide of impulse that we believe to be
from God, as a strong swimmer breasts the incoming waves of the
sea. It was no trifle for a woman with the traditions of 'Old Virginia'
to accept our woman's suffrage resolution away back in 1877; and the
beauty of it was, that her manner of announcing the faith that was
within her lent so much of quiet strength to the decision of the Con-
vention.
"It was my good fortune, as far back as 1876, to make a tour among
the Crusaders of Ohio, visiting well-nigh forty of their towns and vil-
Women Torc h - b e arer s
lages. I could write a volume on the history, experience, and inspira-
tion of that memorable pilgrimage. It was one of the few times in my
life that I ever went forth alone; and I was mothered in the homes of
those devoted women with a tenderness that will never be forgotten.
My own stipulation in making the trip was that I should go to Hills-
boro, the home of Mrs. Thompson, and to Springfield, the home of
Mother Stewart, in both of which we took sweet counsel together.
"Mrs. Thompson's home is the old family mansion where the
governor spent all his days, and which he bequeathed to his beloved
only daughter. It stands on a slight ascent and in a wooded grove, at
the edge of a well-built town of four thousand inhabitants, and is
roomy and hospitable as heart could wish. Here I met Judge Thomp-
son, the genial, witty lawyer, and the husband of our leader; Mrs.
Marie Thompson Rives, the accomplished elder daughter; and Henry
Thompson, the youth who brought the tidings to his mother that
she was expected at the church on that memorable morning. I longed
to see that lovely younger daughter, who from her pocket Bible brought
to her mother the Crusade Psalm that is the Magna Charta of the
White Ribbon Movement ; but she was gone, having been married to
Herbert Tuttle, the distinguished professor in Cornell University,
Ithaca, New York."
Mother Thompson's own account of her Crusade call is a valu-
able record. She tells of the lecture given by Dr. Dio Lewis of Bos-
ton, in Hillsboro, Ohio, December, 1873. She did not attend the meet-
ing, but her sixteen-year-old son, much excited, ran home to tell the
thrilling incidents of the evening. This is her story:
"My son related how Dr. Lewis told of his o'wti mother and
several of her good Christian friends uniting in praj^r with and for
the liquor-sellers of his native town, until they gave up their soul-de-
stroying business, and then said, — 'Ladies, you might do the same thing
in Hillsboro if you had the same faith'; and turning to the ministers
and temperance men who were upon the platform, he added: 'Suppose
I ask the ladies of this audience to signify their opinions upon the sub-
ject.' They all bowed their consent, and fifty or more women stood up
in token of approval. He then asked the gentlemen how many of them
would stand as backers, should the ladies undertake the work, and sixty
or seventy arose. 'And now, mother,' said my boy, 'they have got you
into business, for you are on a committee to do some work at the
The Woman's Crusade
Presbyterian Church in the morning at nine o'clock, and then the
ladies, want you to go with them to the saloons.'
"My husband seemed asleep as he rested upon the couch, while my
son, in an undertone, had given me all the above facts, but as the last
sentence was uttered, he raised himself upon his elbow, and said, 'What
tomfoolery is that'? My son slipped out of the room quietly, and I be-
took myself to the task of consoling my husband with the promise
that I should not be led into any foolish act by Dio Lewis or any asso-
ciation of human beings. But after he had relaxed into a milder mood,
continuing to call the whole thing, as he understood it, 'tomfoolery,'
I ventured to remind him that the men had been in the 'tomfoolery'
business a long time, and suggested that it might be God's vdll that
the women should now take their part. Nothing further was said upon
the subject that had created such interest the night before, until after
breakfast, when we gathered in the family room. First my son ap-
proached me, and placing his hand gently upon my shoulder, in a very
subdued tone said, 'Mother, are you not going over to the church this
morning'? As I hesitated, and doubtless showed in my countenance the
burden upon my spirit, he emphatically said, 'But, my dear mother, you
know you have to go.' Then my daughter, who was sitting on a stool
by my side, leaning over in a most tender manner, and looking up in my
face, said, 'Don't you think you will go'? All this time my husband
had been walking the floor, uttering not a word. He stopped, and
placing his hand on the family Bible, that lay upon my work-table, said,
emphatically, 'Children, you know where your mother goes to settle
all vexed questions; let us leave her alone'; withdrawing as he spoke,
and the dear children following him. I turned the key, and was in the
act of kneeling before God and His Holy Word, to see what would
be sent me, when I heard a gentle tap at my door; upon opening it I
saw my dear daughter, with her little Bible open, and the tears cours-
ing down her young cheeks, as she said, 'I opened to this, mother. It
must be for you.'
"She immediately left the room, and I sat down to read the won-
derful message of the great 'I am' contained in the one hundred forty-
sixth Psalm. No longer doubting, I at once repaired to the Presbyterian
Church, where quite a large assembly of earnest workers had gathered.
I was at once unanimously chosen as the president, Mrs. General Mc-
Dowell as vice-president, and Mrs. D. K. Fenner, secretary of the
Women To rc h - b e a r er s
strange work that was to follow. Appeals were drawn up to druggists,
saloon-keepers, and hotel proprietors. Then the Presbyterian minister
(Dr. McSurely), who had up to this time occupied the chair, called upon
the chairman-elect to come forward to the 'post of honor,' but I could
not; my limbs refused to bear me. So Dr. McSurely remarked, as he
looked around upon the gentlemen : 'Brethren, I see that the ladies will
do nothing while we remain ; let us adjourn, leaving this new work
with God and the women.'
"As the last man closed the door after him, strength before unknown
came to me, and without any hesitation or consultation, I walked for-
ward to the minister's table, took the large Bible, and opening it, ex-
plained the incidents of the morning; then read the Psalm, and briefly
(as my tears would allow) commented upon its new meaning to me.
I then called upon Mrs. McDowell to lead in praj'er — and such a
prayer! It seemed as if the angel had brought down 'live coal' from
off the altar and touched her lips — she who had never before heard her
own voice in prayer! As we rose from our knees (for there were none
sitting on that morning), I asked Mrs. Cowden (our Methodist min-
ister's wife), to start the good old hymn, 'Give to the Winds thy Fears,'
and turning to the dear women, I said, 'As we all join in singing this
hymn, let us form in line, two and two, the small women in front,,
leaving the tall ones to bring up the rear, and let us at once proceed
to our sacred mission, trusting alone in the God of Jacob.'
"It was all done in less time than it takes to write it, every
heart was throbbing, and every woman's countenance betrayed her
solemn realization of the fact that she was going 'about her Father's
business.' As this band of 'mysterious beings' first encountered the
outside gaze, and as they passed from the door of the old church, and
reached the street beyond the large church yard, they were singing
these prophetic words,
'Far, far above thy thought,
His counsel shall appear,
When fully He the work hath wrought
That caused thy needless fear.'
"On they marched, in solemn silence, up to Main street. After
calling at all the drug-stores, four in number, their pledge being
signed by all the dealers save one, they entered saloons and hotels,
on this and subsequent days, with varied success, until by continuous
The Woman^s Crusade
daily visitations, with persuasion, prayer, and song, and Scripture read-
ings, the drinking places of the town were reduced from thirteen to
one drug store, one hotel, and two saloons, and they sold 'very cautious-
ly.' Prayer-meetings were held during the entire winter and spring,
every morning (except Sunday), and mass-meetings in the evenings,
at the Methodist Church one week and at the Presbyterian the next.
This is, in brief, the story."
There were scores of prominent leaders whose names might well
he mentioned, but Mother Stewart (Mrs. E. D.) of Ohio, was one of
the outstanding Crusaders in the state and nation. Her personality and
work were unique. In the south, as well as throughout the north, she
thrilled her audiences as she pictured the adventures and power of the
marvelous Crusade. Her fervent appeals awakened public sentiment
for total abstinence and the closing of the saloons by law. She was the
first American woman to carry the Crusade impulse across the sea ;
and her enthusiasm greatly helped in the formation of the British
Women's Temperance Association.
At the Crusade Anniversary Convention held September 7-14, 1923,
in Columbus, Ohio, Anna A, Gordon entitled her presidential message,
'The Marching Mothers of the Crusade."
"To Ohio's hallowed soil we have come," she said. "On the vic-
torious battle-ground of the Crusade State we are to let the mighty
memories of thousands of Crusade marching mothers have their com-
plete, profound, pentecostal way with us. So shall we more adequately
meet the challenge of the old crusade by the march of the new crusade
— a 'March of Allegiance' to the polling booths of 1924.
"Fortunate are we of the National Woman's Christian Temperance
Union to inherit the holy Crusade spirit kindled on thousands of
Crusade altars by these women called of God. Their daring courage,
their persistent faith, their superb attack on the strongholds of the
liquor trafKc forever will be the wonder-feature in the story of our
great and victorious reform. The Crusade was an anguished protest
of home-loving, cultured, ballotless women. It began in the winter of
1873 and, according to one chronicler, 'In fifty days it drove the liquor
traffic, horse, foot and dragoons out of two-hundred fifty towns and
villages, increased by one hundred per cent the attendance at church
and decreased that at the criminal courts in almost like proportion.*
Women Torc h - b e arer s
"At the height of their dauntless adventure, a sweet-voiced Quaker
woman led her band to the chief saloon in an Ohio village. 'What
business have you to come here'? roared the affrighted dealer. Going
to the bar she laid down her Bible and said, 'Thee knows I had five
sons and twenty grandsons, and thee knows that many of them learned
to drink right in this place, and one went forth from here maddened
with wine and blew his brains out with a pistol ball ; and can't thee let
his mother lay her Bible on the counter whence her boy took up tlic
glass, and read thee what God says: "Woe unto him that puttest the
bottle to his neighbor's lips?' "
"Like a prairie fire the Crusade swept across our continent. Frances
E. Willard, as a young teacher, had an enthralling glimpse of it in
Pittsburgh, when she knelt in front of a saloon with a praying band.
Another prohibition hero, Henry W. Blair, termed this Christian up-
rising 'a great moral commotion, in which woman escaped and learned
her power, never again to be caged.' Mrs. Annie Wittenmyer, first
president of the National W. C. T. U., characterized it as a 'flash of
heavenly light, a mighty spiritual swirl, a staggering blow that sent
the rum-power reeling toward its fall.' Hundreds of dram-shops were
closed, countless barrels of alcoholic drink gurgled into the gutters as
church bells pealed forth the people's joy.
"One of the many attempts of the liquor trade to ridicule the
marching mothers was made in January, 1874, at Canton, Ohio. A
spectacular poster advertising the 'Great American Crusade Circus and
Menagerie' was pasted on the doors of churches and the homes of
Crusaders. Its chief decorative attraction was an American eagle
gracefully carrj'ing in his talons something strongly resembling our
emblematic white ribbon. 'A partial list of animals' appeared with a
brief description of each — a clue to the Crusader's name. Associated
with the 'female rhinoceros,' 'laughing hyena,' 'northern gorilla,' 'Amer-
ican tiger,' and many others, we find 'The American deer — a very fine
looking doe, better looking than the majority of the other animals that
arc allowed out of their cages — captured at Ida Island.' This Crusader
of Canton, none other than our honored Ida Saxton McKinley, later
became the beloved mistress of the White House.
"A few of the elect souls in Ohio and other states who forever wear
the halo of the Crusade are: Mrs. Eliza J. Thompson, Mrs. M, G.
Carpenter, 'Mother' Stewart, Mrs. H. C. McCabe, Mrs. W. A. Ing-
8
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The Woman's Crusade
ham, Mrs. Mattie McClellan Brown and Mrs. Abbie F. Leavitt of
Ohio; Mrs. Jennie Fowler Willing, Mrs. E. E. Marcy and Mrs.
Emily Huntington Miller of Illinois; Mrs. Annie Wittenmyer and
Mrs. Dr. Gause of Pennsylvania; Mrs. Esther McNeil, Mrs. Mary
C. Johnson and Miss Margaret Winslow of New York; Mrs. Mary
A. Livermore and Mrs. Susan A. Gifford of Massachusetts; Mrs.
Dorcas J. Spencer and Miss Emma Janes of California ; Mrs. Hutchins
Hills, Mrs. Fenner and Mrs. O. H. Wendell of New Hampshire.
"Forty-three years before the Ohio Crusade, in Auburn, New York,
a saloon crusading band of women was led by Mrs. Delecta Barbour
Lewis. This impressive incident occurring during the boyhood of her
son, Dio, led him later in life when a popular lyceum lecturer publicly to
urge this method upon the women in saloon-cursed communities. For-
tunately for accurate history of the Crusade miracle, Dr. Lewis wrote
in 1874 the vivid story of his early life and the winter of 1873.
" 'There was trouble at our house when I was a small boy. My
father had forgotten everything but drink. There were five of us
small people. Our mother, with her own hands provided for all. She
earned and cooked our food, cut and made our clothes — in brief, was
father, mother, general provider, cook, housekeeper, and nurse. In ad-
dition to all this, she was the victim of abuse and violence. Often she
would cry in the presence of her children, and sometimes, when she
could bear it no longer, she would drag her weary limbs up into the
garret. We knew what she went up there for, and sometimes, we could
hear her say, *0 God, help me, help me! O Lord, how long, how long?'
Then she would keep very still for a while. When she came down to
us again, her cheeks were wet, but her face shone like an angel's. She
taught us to pray. We grew up with a very large estimate of the power
of prayer. The day was never so dark at home that mother could not
go up into the garret and open the clouds. Today, more than forty
years after those darkest times, I believe in my heart that woman's
prayer is the most powerful agency on earth.
" 'Nineteen years ago, when I first began to speak in public, I
prepared a lecture upon the potency of the prayers of women in grog-
shops, which during those years I have delivered more than three hun-
dred times. Lecturing before the lyceums of Ohio during December,
1873, I gave two evenings to the discussion of woman's prayer-meet-
ings in saloons. In Hillsboro and Washington Court House, where
Women Torch-bearers
this lecture was given, the women rose at once and declared they were
ready. I saw the hour had struck. The world knows the story. I
have not a doubt that the women of America will rid the country of
dram-shops, if they can preserve the Christ-spirit in which they have
begun, continue their combined movements against the enemy, give
the politicians and wise men a wide berth, and keep themselves in the
spirit of humble prayer before God.'
"Hatchets played a conspicious part in the Crusade story. In the
popular mind, today. Carry A. Nation of Kansas alone shares with
George Washington pictorial hatchet history.
"It is happily true that in more than one of the early Crusades,
hatchet brigades of devout praying women helped answer their own
praj^ers for the utter destruction of their dread enemy — intoxicating
liquor. One instance in proof must suffice. The date is fifteen years
ahead of the general Crusade movement of 1874. The scene isBarabco,
Wisconsin, described by the narrator of the phenomenal story, Mrs.
W. A. Hartwell, now of Milwaukee, as a 'most charming and lovely
village looking as though made by a Master artist, in a great workshop
of beauty.' The arch enemy of the home entered its sylvan borders, and
soon, to the consternation of the women, three groceries and two hotels
established liquor bars. In vain the women prayed and plead with the
business men of the town. Homes were ruined, and terrible crimes
were committed by men under alcohol's influence. Then the mothers,
wives and daughters 'struck.' Forty women of the influential circles
of the home and church — women young and middle aged — one fair
morning in May, 1859, quietly marched down the main street of the
village — doubtless appearing to the men as harmless as a flock of sheep.
The fashionable outer garment of that period — the shawl — furnished a
hiding place for the hatchets borrowed from home woodsheds. Ham-
mers also were tucked away ready for use by these serene-faced but
militant souls.
"The women, well versed in strategy by home experience, divided
forces at each point visited, and they called at the widely separated
groceries and hotels in successive and undisturbed regularity. At each
point of attack, half the women engaged the proprietor of the building
in conversation and heated argument, while the second group proceeded
at once to the business in hand. Cellars were entered, kegs of beer
rolled out, and barrels of whisky knocked in. As the liquor gurgled
10
The Woman's Crusade
into the street, a crowd, suddenly gathered, sent up cheer after cheer of
encouragement for the hatchet brigade and its effective efforts. Hus-
bands and lovers, Mrs. Hartwell tells us, stood in the background, but
never lifted their voices against this amazing spectacle. Mrs. Hartwell,
just blossoming into young womanhood, ought to be believed when she
tells us that lovers were there enjoying the bravery of their sweet-
hearts. Some of the men with thoughtful mien were heard to remark,
'Wouldn't wonder if some day women will vote.'
"An exciting public meeting was held that night in the village
church. No one uttered an adverse word about the forty brave women
of Baraboo. Papers were numerously signed pledging the boycotting
of liquor-selling groceries, and these groceries soon went out of the
liquor business.
"No officer in Baraboo could be found by the enraged property
losers to sign a warrant for the arrest of the women. Fifteen miles
over the Baraboo bluffs the saloon men travelled and in the tiny hamlet
of Sauk a man was persuaded to sign a warrant. The women were
arrested and fined $500. Their attorney would not give bail and the
women were committed to the Baraboo jail. Later, they were released
on a writ of habeas corpus, by a high-minded county judge who held
them to bail for six weeks, saying at the expiration of that time he would
announce his decision. The judge's decision that the defendants had not
committed a crime and should be discharged, was rendered in a crowded
court-room. Turning to the attorney for the liquor men, the judge
asked if he wished to hear the reasons on which this decision was based.
Quickly came the illuminating and not unexpected reply — 'No.'
"Today, the ballot is being vigorously used by the Christian women
of this nation to annihilate the nullifiers of the Eighteenth Amendment
— an amendment which the Crusaders and their hatchets helped to place
in the Constitution of the United States. Would an application of the
real hatchet to the illegal saloon, where one exists, speed to earlier vic-
tory the present-day struggle of the temperance forces?
"On December 14, 1873, at Fredonia, New York, Dr. Dio Lewis
made his inspiring suggestion that women should enter upon a crusade
against the direst foe of their homes. On that eventful date, cultured
home women, two hundred and eight in number, with prayer and song
marched two by two into the saloons and hotel barrooms of Fredonia.
with Mrs. Esther McNeil as their devoted leader. What is more, they
11
Women Torc h - b e arer s
organized, the following day, under the name. Woman's Christian
Temperance Union, and are justly proud of thus antedating by nearly
a 5'ear the name adopted at the organizing convention of the National
W, C. T. U., November, 1874, in Cleveland, Ohio. Losing sight of
this background of isolated instances of Crusade bands and of the
fact that from Hillsboro and Washington Court House, Ohio, the
Crusade fire that contagiously spread from point to point first blazed
forth, we are justified in naming Ohio the Crusade State because of
the large number of towns, cities and villages where the intrepid pray-
ing bands of women successfully carried on their holy warfare against
the saloon.
"When Mrs. Judge Thompson and the seventy women who fol-
lowed her, solemly marched forth, two by two, from the Presbyterian
church at Hillsboro, Ohio, December 23, 1873, singing 'Give to the
Winds Thy Fears,' God's hour had struck for the beginning of the end
of the legalized liquor traffic in our liberty-loving republic."
Do not these Crusade stories picture some of the "greater things"
that should come to pass? The inspired writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke
and John, have given to all ages the story of Christ's gospel of "Peace
on Earth, Good Will to Men." At Christmas time in America, in
1873, the echoes of that song reverberated down through the centuries,
for to the women of the American crusade came a Divine call — a com-
pelling commission to carry to all nations a blessed interpretation and
fulfillment of the joyful song of the angels.
12
CHAPTER II
Mobilization and Organization
It was a victor.v-vision that initiated and invested with power the
Woman's Christian Temperance Union. This God-given insight came
to the Crusaders and their friends who attended at Chautauqua, New
York, in August, 1874, the National Sunday School Assembly. At the
suggestion of Mrs. Mattie McClellan Brown, a committee composed
of women from all over the country sent out a call for a national
delegated convention to meet in Cleveland, Ohio. This official invita-
tion was signed by Mrs. Jennie Fowler Willing, chairman, and Mrs.
Emily Huntington Miller, secretary. God's time had come for the
deliverance of the pitiful victims of a pitiless liquor traffic. At Cleve-
land, Ohio, November 18, 19 and 20, 1874, the National Woman's
Christian Temperance Union was organized with these officers: Presi-
dent, Mrs. Annie AVittenmyer of Penns}']vania ; corresponding secre-
tary. Miss Frances E. Willard of Illinois; recording secretary, Mrs.
Mary C. Johnson of New York; treasurer, Mrs. W. A. Ingham of
Ohio.'
Frances E. Willard and Mrs. Mattie McClellan Brown presented
a notable plan of work, Miss Willard writing this famous resolution:
"Resolved, That, recognizing the fact that our cause is, and will be
combated by mighty, determined and relentless forces, we will, trusting
in Him who is the Prince of Peace, meet argument with argument, mis-
judgment with patience, denunciation with kindness, and all our diffi-
culties and dangers with prayer."
The constitution was presented by Mrs. J. Ellen Foster of Iowa,
The declaration of principles, including the pledge for total abstinence
and the promise to work against the traffic in alcoholic liquors, written
by Frances E. Willard, was a new Declaration of Independence — cre-
ating a higher level of thought for American manhood. These daugh-
ters of Puritan foremothers, inheriting the power to discern spiritual
values, had a right to ask that under the guarantees of the Federal con-
stitution their homes should be protected from the iniquitous liquor
traffic living and thriving on the destruction of all most dear to them.
With ribaldry and sneers the liquor men had written and talked
of the Woman's Crusade. To them it was merely an absurd, ephemeral
movement that would be quickly crushed by the age-long appetite and
13
Women Torc h - b e a rer s
avarice of men. What could ballot-less and money-less women do
against a business entrenched in politics and in partnership with the gov-
ernment of the United States? This advanced step, however, this
mobilization of American womanhood, this determined National
W. C. T. U. brought dismay to the hearts of the brewers and dis-
tillers. Women of social prestige who joined this new organization
met ridicule with reverence. Their magna charta was the word of
God, "The way of the wicked shall be turned upside down." Their
work was religious and patriotic. It was in the line of evolution and
also of revolution. Their issue was the home, church and state versus
the liquor traffic. This was made articulate in the W. C. T. U. na-
tional motto: "For God and Home and Native Land." In answer
to the question so often asked in those history making days — "What is
the Woman's Christian Temperance Union ?" — this was the comprehen-
sive reply: "It is an organization of Christian women banded to-
gether for the protection of the home, the abolition of the liquor traffic
and the triumph of Christ's Golden Rule in custom and in law; and it
is the lineal descendant of the great Woman's Temperance Crusade of
1873-1874."
The reasons for joining the organization and signing the total ab-
stinence pledge are given in this Declaration of Principles, written by
Frances E. Willard:
"We believe in the coming of His Kingdom whose service is perfect
freedom, because His laws, written in our members as well as in nature
and in grace, are perfect, converting the soul.
"We believe in the gospel of the Golden Rule, and that each
man's habits of life should be an example safe and beneficent for every
other man to follow.
"We believe that God created both man and woman in His own
image, and, therefore, we believe in one standard of purity for both
men and women, and in the equal right of all to hold opinions and to
express the same with equal freedom.
"We believe in a living wage; in an eight-hour day; in courts of
conciliation and arbitration; in justice as opposed to greed of gain; in
'Peace on Earth and Good-will to Men.'
"We, therefore, formulate and for ourselves adopt the following
pledge, asking our sisters and brothers of a common danger and a
14
Mobilization an d Organization
common hope, to make common cause with us, in working its reason-
able and helpful precepts into the practice of everyday life:
" 'I hereby solemnly promise, God helping me, to abstain from al/
distilled, fermented and malt liquors, including wine, beer and cider,
and to employ all proper means to discourage the use of and traffic
in the same.'
"To confirm and enforce the rationale of this pledge, we declare
our purpose to educate the young; to form a better public sentiment;
to reform, so far as possible, by religious, ethical and scientific means,
the drinking classes; to seek the transforming power of Divine grace
for ourselves and all for whom we work, that they and we may wil-
fully transcend no law of pure and wholesome living; and finally we
pledge ourselves to labor and to pray that all these principles, founded
upon the gospel of Christ, may be worked out into the customs of society
and the laws of the land."
Although formulated in 1874 this Christian Patriotic Declaration
is still a maker of exalted public sentiment, the only change being in
the pledge which, because of the national prohibition victory, now reads:
"I hereby solemnly promise, God helping me, to abstain from all
distilled, fermented and malt liquors including wine, beer, and cider,
and to employ all proper means to secure the enforcement of the
Eighteenth Amendment to the Federal Constitution."
During the administration of the first president, Mrs. Annie Witten-
myer, who had been prominent for years in church, journalistic and
philanthropic work, twenty-three states were organized as auxiliaries to
the National W. C. T. U. and a National W. C. T. U. paper was
founded. Mrs. Wittenmyer worked earnestly for the society in all
its earlier years. She also labored tirelessly in the lecture field, speak-
ing sometimes six evenings in the week, besides traveling hundreds of
miles. She attended all the large conventions, of which forty-six vvere
held in 1875. One of the notable acts which characterized her admin-
istration was the sending of a letter of inquiry to the International /
Medical Association, which met in Philadelphia in the summer of the
Centennial year. This led to a hearing before a committee of cele-
brated physicians of Europe and our country, and resulted in the well-
known "resolutions" expressive of the most important medical opinion
against intoxicants on record, when we consider the representative char-
acter of those who gave it. Still another ofilicial act was the holding
15
Women Torc h - b barer s
n1
of the first "Woman's National Camp Meeting" at Ocean Grove, New
Jersey, which, conducted wholly and addressed largely by women, com-
manded the earnest attention of the thousands present, and was equally
remarkable for spiritual and intellectual power.
At the sixth annual convention of the organization held in Indian-
apolis, Indiana, in 1879, Miss Frances E. Willard of Evanston, Illinois,
was elected president. Miss Willard was free to accept the national
position, for she had resigned her educational responsibilities as Dean of
Women and Professor of Belles Lettres in Northwestern University.
The story of Frances Willard's career, as thrilling as romance, is admir-
ably told by her biographer, Anna A. Gordon, in "The Life of Frances
E. Willard," published by the National W. C. T. U. In the victory
story of today, only the high points in the life of this notable educator,
traveler, philanthropist, organizer, orator and seer will be touched upon.
She was one of the greatest women of the nineteenth century.
"All history," says Emerson, "resolves itself into the biography of
a few stout and earnest persons. Their success lay in the fact, not that
they were born great, but that God's thought for that century found in
them an unobstructed channel so that the w^onders, of which they were
the visible conductors, seemed to the eye, their deed. That which to an
outsider looked like will and immovableness was really willingness and
self-annihilation." The greatest need of the world, as Elizabeth Bar-
rett Browning has said, is
"God's light organized
In some high soul crowned capable to lead
The conscious people ; conscious and advised ;
To plant the great Hereafter in the Now."
In the eons of history, as the thought of the world had been awakened
by a Moses, a Columbus, a Luther, a Wesley, a Lincoln, so in the nine-
teenth century a new moral and spiritual atmosphere was created by
Frances E. Willard. "My life a vow" was the spirit in which she
faced her adventurous task.
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union today owes largely to
Frances Willard the organization plans that are carried on in every
state and territory of our country, and in fifty nations federated in
the World's W. C. T. U. Gifted with a rare imagination, "that
searchlight of the soul," Miss Willard had also a genius for construc-
16
Frances E. Willard
Mobilization and Organization
tive detail seldom equalled. With inherited pluck and a Willard's
(Will Hard's) will she wrought out her world vision.
In 1876-7, on invitation from Mr. Dwight L. Moody, Miss Willard
assisted him for several months in his gospel work, in Boston. In un-
dertaking this enterprise, she hoped that the temperance work might be
united with the gospel work, and with it be brought to the front. The
meetings for women, filling Berkeley and Park Street churches, and
her words before the thousands gathered in the great Tabernacle, are
memorable.
Mary A. Lathbury, in her introduction to Frances Willard's
"Woman and Temperance," written in 1883, calls attention to one of
Miss Willard's unfulfilled desires: "The deepest thought and desire
of my life," said Miss Willard, "would have been met, if my deal
old Mother Church had permitted me to be a minister. The wandering
life of an evangelist or a reformer comes nearest to, but cannot fill, the
ideal which I early cherished, but did not expect ever publicly to con-
fess. WTiile I heartily sympathize with the progressive movement which
will ere long make ecclesiastically true our Master's words, 'There is
neither male nor female in Christ Jesus' ; while I steadfastly believe that
there is no place too good for a woman to occupy, and nothing too
sacred for her to do, I am not willing to go on record as a misanthropic
complainer against the Church, which I prefer above my chief joy." \^/
Years later, Miss Willard gives this account, so interesting to young
women, of- her first glimpse of Anna A. Gordon, then in her happy
girlhood. "On my going to conduct the women's meetings for Mr.
Moody in Boston, in 1877, there was no one to play the cabinet organ
that was beside my desk on the platform. An earnest appeal was made,
and after a painful pause and waiting, a slight figure in black, with a
little music roll in her hand, came shyly along the aisle of Berkeley
Street Church, and Anna Gordon gently whispered, *As no one volun-
teers, I will do the best I can.' That very day she had taken her first
lesson on the organ, meaning to become mistress of that instrument.
"She had just attended Mr. Moody's noon-meeting, in which the
text had been 'Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it,' and had promised
in her inmost heart that, by God's grace, she would try to do helpful
things as the opportunity offered, and behold, the very first 'opportunity'
was to come forward before twelve or fifteen hundred waiting women,
17
Women To rc h - b e a r e r s
and 'start the tune.' When I knew these things, I said in my heart,
'this is a rare, young spirit.'
"When I asked Anna Gordon if she could come and play for us
every day, she said she would try, and I soon turned over my letters,
messages, etc., to her faithful care. In the prompt and accurate execu-
tion of commissions, tactful meeting of people, skillful style in corres-
ponding, I have not known her equal. As soon as the meetings were
over, she had a lecture trip ready for me, extending all through New .
England. "^
"For fourteen years Anna was with us at Rest Cottage, and as my
blessed mother grew older, she resigned into Anna's hands more and
more of the care. The house became a charming place, as years passed
by, and I was able to do more to make it the home I wanted it to be,
chiefly for my mother's sake ; then dear Mrs. Thorpe and Mrs. Ole
Bull of Cambridge, Mass., added that beautiful room, an enlargement
of the 'Den,' and we 'set our house in order' with great particularity
when we expected that beautiful woman, Lady Henry Somerset."
In 1881, the charming but conservative women of the "solid south"
were enlisted in large numbers in the peaceful war of the Woman's
Christian Temperance Union. On this first southern trip, accompanied
by Anna Gordon and sponsored by Mrs. Sallie Chapin of Charleston,
South Carolina, and Mrs. Georgia Hulse McLeod of Baltimore, Mar\'-
land, Frances Willard made the white ribbon "Grod's olive branch of
peace." Her message, her faith and love, and her warm handclasp
were mighty cohesive forces. "It was the first ray of hope that had
come into our lives since the Civil War," said one of Miss Willard's
grateful, gentle hearers; and another, a cultured, forceful woman who
later became prominent in National W. C. T. U. work, enthusiastically
exclaimed to a friend, "The first time I heard Frances Willard I lay
awake all night for sheer gladness. It was a wonderful revelation to
me that such a woman could exist. I thanked God and took courage."
Bishop Stevens, who as Colonel Stevens, commanded the battery
that fired the first shot on Fort Sumter, introduced Frances Willard
to a magnificent audience in Charleston, South Carolina, and thus fired
the first moral shot at the greatest enemy that imperiled the southern
homes. In his gracious speech, he said: "Our friend tells me there
were three reasons why she was almost afraid to come with a public
message to the south ; first, because she was a woman ; secondly, a north-
18
Mobilization and Organization
ern woman and last of all, a temperance woman. We warmly welcome
her, for she brings us the magic initials, W. C. T. U. Shall we not
interpret them to mean: We come to unite the north and the south j/
and we come to upset the liquor traffic." An editor, hearing of this
remark, said, "The W. C. T. U. is certainly a womanly organization,
for the W. C. T. U. means 'Washing contracts taken unconditionally,'
and the white ribbon women are in the forefront in washing the stafns
from the nation's flag."
The writer was with her sister and Miss Willard on this memor-
able trip and well recalls the delighted surprise and spontaneous re-
sponse of the men and women in Frances Willard's many large au-
diences. In Nashville, Tennessee, a young man student said to her,
"Hundreds of people, many of them students, are here tonight out
of curiosity. They had never thought it possible for a woman to speak
so superbly. We are naturally so conservative about women, but as
Miss Willard stands before us tonight, she is the embodiment of the
qualities she said women should possess, 'womanliness first — afterward
what you will.' She seems to us so sisterly and so motherly, with a
divine mind." Realizing, as Miss Willard did, the extreme prejudice
of the south against women's public work and its great need of re-
demption from the liquor traffic, she humbly sought the wisdom that
comes from God, and always knelt in prayer as she left her room to
meet a public engagement. At the next national convention, held in
Washington, D. C, when southern women for the first time met in
counsel with their northern sisters, they enthusiastically said to their
beloved leader and friend, "We have enlisted with you to wage
a peaceful war for God and Home and Native' Land."
A unique incident that occurred during one of Mrs. Sallie Chapin's
organizing trips through the southern states shows the kindly spirit
that in religious and temperance work existed between the white and
colored races. When Mrs. Chapin had finished an address to negroes,
one evening in a state not far from her own, a colored minister arose
and said, "I don't care what state claims Mrs. Chapin ; these Southern
ladies were all raised in our laps. They are of us, and Mrs. Chapin
was sent an angel from heaven, to talk to my poor, downtrodden race
and to raise us to the skies. I ain't an educated man, but if I knew
every language in the world, all put together, I would not know
words enough to express our love and gratitude. We will, in a body,
19
Women To rc h - b e are r s
promise you, Mrs. Chapin, to work for prohibition, ma'am; we will
follow you all over the world with our prayers, go where you will;
you won't be able to get out of the reach of them, and we will, God
helping us, meet you in Heaven."
In one year, 1882-1883, these pioneers traveled 30,000 miles, visited
all the large cities and towns of 10,000 inhabitants of the country, and
organized state and local unions. Always Miss Willard averred that
without Anna Gordon's devotion, versatility and aid in speaking, she
could not have carried out so successfully her program of organiza-
tion. What wonderful trips they had in the twenty-one years of com-
radeship, and into how many families and churches they carried the
thought that "only the Golden Rule of Christ can bring the Golden
Age of man." How many hardships they happily endured ! The princi-
ples of total abstinence for the individual, and prohibition for the state
and nation, were from the first reiterated; also the plans for mem-
bership, and "dry" campaigns, for petition work, for woman suf-
frage, and for legislative and congressional hearings and bills. Frances
Willard was a pioneer in all these lines. It was she who first sug-
gested scientific temperance instruction in the public schools and quar-
terly temperance lessons in the Sunday Schools. Always she emphasized
the importance of work among young people and boys and girls.
She initiated child welfare and social morality measures, reached out
a welcoming hand to foreign-speaking people and endeavored to secure
justice and better living conditions for women and children in in-
dustry.
On this nation-wide trip, unprecedented in the annals of woman-
kind, these pioneers were makers of American history. "Across the
Continent," letters to The Union Signal, narrated racy and patriotic
incidents, and providentially, no accidents. In her first travel notes
to The Union Signal in March, 1883, Miss Willard writes, "As our
train rolls over these Missouri plains, this line sings itself in my heart:
'No pent up Utica contracts our powers
But lo! the whole broad continent is ours.'
"This seems to me the genius of our beloved W. C. T. U. and
I gladly work on the circumference of its widening circle during these
years of my prime, anticipating with not infrequent desire the future
years when I hope to work nearer its center."
20
Mobilization and Organization
The travelers were royally dealt with by the St. Louis ladies and
Miss Willard by her addresses added largely to the membership.
She was delighted with a lecture by Prof. William T. Harris, who by
invitation of the notable author, Louisa May Alcott, then secretary of
the Concord, (Mass.) W. C. T. U., was writing a scientific temper-
ance textbook.
As our white ribboners sped along over the continent, they were
purifying the springs of human life. Like the torch bearers, of whom
the celebrated poet, Alfred Noyes, has so brilliantly written, Frances
Willard was lighting many torches as she won the hearts of hundreds
of women, saying to them, "Mother love works magic, but organized
mother love works miracles."
Enroute from Sante Fe to Tucson, Frances Willard wrote: "At
Trinidad, Colorado, we found Professor Henry E. Gordon (brother
of Anna), a graduate of Amherst College and principal of the New
West Commission Academy. He introduced me to a genuine cowboy,
and I was indeed glad to rectify my opinion of a class much mis-
understood by the east. He loves a free, outdoor life above all things —
yet he is bound to make himself the heir of the ages as well, so he
studies with Prof. Gordon." Here a W. C. T. U. and a Band of
Hope were organized. Continuing that journey, the travelers reached
Santa Fe and were entertained in the pleasant home of Mrs. William
Breeden, wife of the State's Attorney. A saloon on an advantageous
corner was called the health office; another the senate, and a third,
the little church. "Could ghastly travesty go further?" Miss Willard
wrote. "Whitin University" named for Mrs. John C. Whitin of
Massachusetts, who helped to set it literally "on its feet" was visited,
also the Presidio or old palace where Gen. Lew Wallace finished writing
that matchless book, "Ben Hur." At Albuquerque a thriving W. C.
T. U. was organized.
Pioneer traveling had its delightful surprises, as well as its unsus-
pected dangers. Miss Willard possessed an unusual gift of racy humor
and insight. No difficulty could daunt her, and in her search for a
new world of vital morality she "sailed on and on," ever overcoming
prejudice and injustice; and as Anna Gordon's heritage was one of
joy, delight in music, poetry, scenery and little children, the days of
travel were never monotonous. Years after, in one of her merriest
moods, Mi§s Willard wrote thus of her cherished traveling bag: "There
21
Women Torc h - b e ar e r s
isn't a particle of humbug about it. All through these many years it
has gone its way in varied climates and has met adverse circumstances ;
it has been evilly and despitefully treated, used as a footstool, a writing
desk, a pillow; it has patiently disgorged thousands of letters, postals
and documents, but it survives, and I deem it the fittest of all sur-
vivals to me personally known." Often, as she encountered new ex-
periences, there came to Miss Willard a keen remembrance of the
happy years of overseas travel. She was eager to see and know ev-
erybody and everything — unchanged from the old days when a girl,
standing in the barn door of Forest Home, she said to her sweet
younger sister, Mary, "Shall we ever go anywhere, know anything,
or see anybody?" In Tucson, for ten j^ears the capital of Arizona, a
W. C. T. U. was organized, and early in May the travelers arrived
at Los Angeles.
"We are at last in the land of enchantment," Miss Willard wrote,
"where heliotrope climbs all over the fronts of the houses ; where corn
grows seventeen feet high, and one can have a bouquet of fresh roses
and a strawberry shortcake on the table all the year round. We are
with people as genial as the climate, and breathe an air that makes
wine seem more than ever an unnecessary and absurd exhilaration. The
dignified president, and the keen brained secretary of the California
W. C. T. U., came five hundred miles to meet us. The big hearted
Californians have given us a most generous reception. The mayor of
Los Angeles, at our first meeting, welcomed us on behalf of the town,
the clergy on behalf of the church, and the Good Templars for the
grand lodge of the state. Blessings on them all!"
In addresses given in the east later on. Miss Willard was wont
to draw lessons from a scene which was an incident of her wonderful
trip to the Yosemite Valley. As she rounded "Inspiration Point" with
a party of holiday Methodists, the greatest vision she had ever seen
opened to her view. All her hopes had been realized. She said, "I
have seen Niagara, but then the lips moved and comments passed, but
before that wondrous Yosemite Valley view, where God had seemed
to condense in such a wonderful degree His loveliness and beauty, one
involuntarily paid the highest homage — the silence that is golden."
Then, with an expression of intense sympathy, she exclaimed, "Never
before have I been so sorry for the people who are blind." She often
22
Esther Pugh, Lillian M. N. Stevens (standing)
Caroline B. Buell, Frances E. Willard, Mary A. Woodbridge
Mobilization and Organization
stated that the temperance reform was a moral Yosemite and marked
the antitheses in strikingly beautiful descriptions.
In San Jose, California's "garden city," Miss Willard's visit was
the event of the season. It seemed a sort of poetic and practical justice
that in the auditorium where a recent political convention had pledged,
at the behest of whisky, the repeal of the Sunday law of the state,
•the foremost champion among women for temperance should protest
in the name of the women of California; and protest she did, with
cogency of argument, originality of illustration, and chasteness of
rhetoric. Her keen satire, vehement censure, trenchant reasoning and
impassioned appeals were accompanied with a womanly grace and dig-
nity that convinced the intellects and won the hearts of the people.
One thousand dollars was received in collections at the meetings held
in California, but Miss Willard generously left it all to the state
W. C. T. U. to be used in strengthening the unions she had organized,
"Beautiful for situation and a generation hence, the joy of this
noble republic, is Puget Sound," wrote Miss Willard four months after
leaving Boston. "Welcome, Puget Sound, with its fathomless land-
locked blue and the imperial presence of such snow-clad mountains
as are found nowhere else, no, not in Switzerland. Here is the Pacific
cowed and conquered, purring like a tamed tiger at the seat of these
young cities. No one can appreciate the transformation save those
who, like ourselves, have experienced the untold miseries of the voyage
between San Francisco and Astoria, Oregon. We are happy to have
been borne hither on 'that tide in the affairs of men, which taken
at the flood, leads on to fortune.' There is a boom on every hand.
Henry Villard has just been here, the magic railway king of the North-
ern Pacific, a branch of which will visit every leading town upon these
lovely shores."
The new Northwest was a wonderland to the travelers. As a
girl, Frances Willard had been thrilled with the story of the adven-
turous pioneer missionary, Marcus Whitman, who saved ''for the
United States the "Oregon Country," now the three states of Oregon,
Washington and Idaho. Miss Willard realized that she and the
Woman's Christian Temperance Union were beneficiaries of Mr.
Whitman's genius. Early settlers told Miss Willard of his splendid
missionary and temperance work with the Indians and of his heroic
mid-winter horse-back ride of 4,000 miles from the Valley of the
23
Women Torc h - b e arer s
Columbia to Washington, D. C, a ride for life or death rivaling in
historic interest that of the renowned Paul Revere. \Vhitman, this
martyred man of destiny, was imbued with an unselfish love of hu-
manity and devotion to his country. His aim was to reach Congress
before adjournment. After weeks of floundering through mountains,
snowdrifts and dangerous ravines, encountering savage beasts or
savage men, he reached Washington, D. C, March 3, 1843. Suffering
with frozen limbs and clothed in torn fur garments and leather
breeches, he stood, a tragic and dignified figure, before the President
of the United States. His story was a complete refutation of the
statements of senators, and representatives, who having no patriotic
vision, had asserted, "The Rocky Mountains are an impassable barrier
whose bases are skirted with deserts of irreclaimable land." "I will
never vote one cent to place the Pacific Coast one inch nearer to Boston
than it is now." "The people of the Pacific and those on the Atlantic
can never live under the same government." So successful was Whit-
man's appeal that a treaty was consummated with Great Britain, and
on August 5, 1845, the great Northwest came under the American
flag.
"Our Whitman rode to save
New stars for freedom's bannner.
Three stars he added to that flag of fame.
And won an empire and a deathless name."
As a Christian statesman, Miss Willard so often said that a stu-
dent of history is always an optimist. She well remembered the
emigration of 1,000 people from the east that followed Whitman's
visit to Washington, and in her imagination pictured the scene, as
with 125 wagons, 1,000 head of cattle, sheep and horses, these venture-
some people reached the top of the Rockies and viewed the Pacific
Slope. Entertained throughout her trip, in simple but delightful homes.
Miss Willard realized that she was meeting with descendants of that
memorable eastern emigration of 1843 who adventured, not for selfish
trade, but for godly homes. Pondering on the tremendous difficulties
overcome by Whitman in his journeys, and especially in his dealings
with Congress, Miss Willard took courage for her seemingly insuper-
able task. In her heart of hearts, "a fire burned for a beacon light."
Like Sacajawea, the Indian princess, who, at sixteen, with her baby
on her back, led brave pioneers through trackless forests to this un-
24
Mobilization and Organization
claimed country, so Frances Willard, possessing the brain and brawn
of her distinguished pilgrim ancestors, resolved, with God's help, to
point out to these privileged people living in the Valle)^ of the Columbia
a still higher civilization, the only sure way of protection for their
homes.
The fine tem.perance influence of these eastern-western pioneers is
typified in the story of an Indian boy who had received instruction in
one of their schools. In a village conference on the licensing of a
saloon he was given a chance to speak and said, "One thing I must
have put on paper — that you white men no more sell Indians rum.
White man makes it heself ; he must drink it heself." In the territory
of Oregon, early in its history, a prohibitory law was passed, but
later, through the efforts of unscrupulous liquor politicians, was re-
pealed. A prominent minister met an emigrant family going west.
On one of the wagons there hung a jug with the bottom knocked out.
"What is that?" asked the doctor. "Why, it's my Taylor jug," said
the man. "And what is a Taylor jug?" asked the doctor again. "I had
a son in General Taylor's army in Mexico and the general always told
him to carry his whisky jug with a hole in the bottom; and that's it.
It is the best invention I ever met with for hard drinkers."
"I never knew nobler women than those of Oregon," wrote Miss
Willard in June. 'Tortland wag the storm center of a wonderful
crusade in '74. We have grand audiences, over ninety delegates, and
a delightful Band of Hope meeting, in whose procession of children
marched a dear old soldier, one hundred years old, carrying his banner
side by side with the boy whose drum taps guided the long procession
into the church. Anna Gordon organized a large Y. W. C. T. U.,
addressed the convention, and also spoke to the Band of Hope. The
convention was one of deep spiritual power."
In Seattle, the beautiful town terminus of the Northern Pacific,
the first general temperance convention ever called in Washington
territory was held. Delegates came from twenty-five towns; seventy-
nine gCHtlemen and one hundred and five ladies. A W. C. T. U. for
the territory was organized and a Christian Voters' League that de-
clared for "prohibition straight" and the "full ballot for women."
The leading pastors and the mayors of the respective cities — Olympia,
New Tacoma, Seattle and Port Townsend — were among those who
gave God-speed to the messengers of the W. C. T. U.
25
Women Torch-bearers
As nature had divided the territory by the Cascade Mountains,
it was thought best to have two separate state organizations. A two
days' convention at Cheney resulted in the organization of a W. C.
T. U. for eastern Washington, as the convention at Seattle gave a
western division. Attendance at Cheney was good, representatives com-
ing from Walla Walla, Colfax, Spokane Falls, Deep River, Medical
Lake and elsewhere. "All hail, bright young stars of the new North-
west!" wrote Miss Willard.
In her official letter, Miss Willard tells of an interesting adventure
that occurred in Lewiston, Idaho. Leaving the railroad at Texas
Ferry, the travelers took the pleasant steamer, "John Gates," for an
eighty-mile trip up the Snake River to Lewiston, the oldest town in
Idaho. In their roomy stateroom, especially reserved and the best on
the boat, they wrote letters, articles, and read with infinite zest the
"Letters and Memorials of Jane Welsh Carlyle," prepared for publi-
cation by her unique husband. "A more breezy, zestful, pungently
flavored book I have not whetted my literary appetite upon in many
a year," wrote Frances Willard. "Jane Carlyle is as refreshing as
Puget Sound's salt flavored air. Mount Hood's August zephyrs, or the
cherries in an Oregon temperance woman's garden."
On reaching Lewiston, Miss Willard heard that the city authori-
ties, taking advantage of a diphtheria scare that was abating, had for-
bidden all public meetings — just two days before the long-time adver-
tised date on which Frances Willard was to speak. Leading citizens
declared that this action had its animus in the liquor traffic. How-
ever, not to arouse antagonism, it was resolved to heed the admonition.
In the parlors of a noble-hearted Presbyterian lady, the leading women
of the city assembled, and after earnest waiting upon God, proceeded
to organize the convention, adopt a constitution, and select the officers.
When it was time for the travelers to return to the boat, the whole
convention packed the coach.
Everyw^here, the travelers were greeted with wonderful floral dec-
orations,— mottoes, arches, banks, pyramids, symbolic designs — and all
in flowers. In New Tacoma, a beautiful arch was placed over the
entrance to the Opera House with a motto, "God Speed Temper-
ance," and nobody interfered with it. One of the features in all the
meetings in the "New Northwest" was the amazing number of babies
26
%.
Campaigning in Colorado, in 1924 (above)
Pioneering in Montana, in 1883
Mobilization and Organization
present. Indeed, no sight was so familiar as the young parents enter-
ing church, or hall, the father gently carrying his little one.
Bishop Hargraves of the M. E. Church South, had it about right
when he said, "Montana has barely enough valleys to slip in between
its hills." Never was a territory more aptly named. For beauty of
railway scenery, Frances Willard thought no country furnished any-
thing superior to the panorama between Spokane Falls and Missoula,
Montana, on the spick and span new Northern Pacific. At Spokane
Falls about this time, when a division of the railroad hands on this
splendid Northern Pacific road was paid off, $6,000 of their money
within fifteen days was in the tills of the saloons. Learning this dis-
tressing fact. Miss Willard emphasized in her addresses the economic
value of prohibition.
The travelers left Missoula late in July, in a covered conveyance,
for Helena and Deer Lodge — a distance of 182 miles. Rev. William
Shannon, his wife and little girl thirteen months old, accompanjang
them. Mr. Shannon had sent the conveyance ahead the night before —
eighteen miles beyond Missoula — as the railroad authorities had kind-
ly permitted the party to ride on the construction train to that point,
the western terminus of the great iron track. Here they clambered into
the wagon behind the unmated steeds loaned from two separate estab-
lishments, packed away big box, little box, bandbox and bundle almost
to the overflowing point, and set out "overland."
With the morning they started on their third day's riding, passing
the place where a few days previous the robbers sacked a stage and
killed a horse. On the fourth day, they saw the logs beside the road
from behind which, not twenty-four hours earlier, three masked men
had pointed guns at the stage load, and afterward a private conveyance,
making them stand and deliver. Perhaps, it was on the principle, ''They
that know nothing fear nothing," anyhow. Miss Willard and her
party went on their way rejoicing. They reached their destination
without accident and took the scenic route — only five months old —
across the continent. Two meetings were held on Sunday in Ogden,
Utah, and the W. C. T. U. was re-organized. When the travelers
reached the Mormon capital, a true-hearted band of women met them.
The territorial W. C. T. U., which had disbanded, was reorganized.
During this epochal year, 1883, Miss Willard and Miss Gordon,
with their shining torches, kindled the flame of truth in hundreds of
27
Women Torc h - b barer s
homes, winning the hearts and memberships of a host of women. At
the tenth annual meeting held in Detroit, Michigan, Miss Willard
etched on the receptive minds of her hearers, a vivid word-picture of
this memorable nation-wide-travel when, triumphantly, she said: "The
Woman's Christian Temperance Union was never weak, but it is a
giant now! The Pacific coast, the New Northwest, and the South, are
all with us today. But yesterday, Mary A. Livermore of Massa-
chusetts, sent to Sallie F. Chapin of South Carolina, our forces being
assembled in both states, this telegraphic message: 'If your heart is
as our heart, give us thy hand.* Back came the message from our
gifted southern leader: 'For God and Home and Native Land, we'll
give you both our heart and hand.' The W. C. T. U., headed by Mary
A. Woodbridge, Mary T. Lathrap, Clara C. Hoffman, Lillian M.
N. Stevens, Mary Allen West, and a host of others cannot go forth
in vain. In my thoughts I always liken our organization to Joan of
Arc. Evermore she heard and heeded heavenly voices and God grant
that we hear and heed them evermore."
Local organizations, veritable W. C. T. U. telegraph stations, mul-
tiplied. From town to town womanly women wearing the white
ribbon agitated, educated and organized. As organizers, lecturers and
evangelists each had the same live message. Inevitably, they created,
almost unconsciously, an interdenominational and inter-organization
fellowship and an intersectional spirit. They were the first organ-
ization of women to walk in this broad path. "Together," Edward
Everett Hale said, "is one of the strongest words in the English lan-
guage," and in co-operation with chivalrous men who were educational,
church and business leaders, and pastors, astonishing temperance senti-
ment was created, even conservative public opinion favoring the pro-
tection of the home and children. The charm of many of the meetings
held under the auspices of the W. C. T. U. was their homelikeness.
This quality, already enriching religious work, was destined to come
helpfully into government. These women believed, as Mrs. Harriet
Beecher Stowe divinely put it, "Whatever ought to happen is going
to happen."
The intrepid white ribbon leaders of the Pacific Coast, second to none,
lost no opportunity to present their ideals before civic officials and
state and national legislators.
28
Mobilization and Organization
Miss Willard, seeing that women were being translated from the
passive to the active voice said, "It seems to me our Heavenly Father
trusts us just as fast and as far as He can. Brains clean from al-
coholic fumes and brains unperturbed by the fever of this transition
age, alone can carry the success of the co-operative forces by which
we shall yet change the old proverb 'each for himself and the devil
take the hindmost' to 'each for the other that there may be no hind-
most for the devil to take.'
"The Woman's Christian Temperance Union is to my thought but
a vast and growing net-work of telegraph lines, along M^hich fly swift
and blessed messages, transmitted by that divine spirit whose central
battery is the heart of Christ. Slow, difficult and adventurous as is
the work of building these lines, establishing the stations, enlisting and
teaching the operators, one forgets the hardship in remembering what
are the messages and whence they come throbbing over the wires with
their sweet 'Peace on Earth, Good Will to Men.' "
In ten years, the Crusade praying bands, intense, intrepid, inspired,
had become not only in name but in reality, the National Woman's
Christian Temperance Union — steadfast, patient, far-reaching in pur-
pose and plan.
29
CHAPTER III
The Fight for a Olear Brain
It was through her unusual power to see that every sociological,
business, educational and legislative question has its temperance aspect,
and her persuasive power to make others see this truth, that Frances
Willard evolved her "Do Everything Policy" — in reality initiating the
sj'stem of department work. In this unprecedented vision she was like
Ruskin who said, "One of the greatest things a human soul ever does
in this world is to see something, and tell what it sees in a plain way."
Imbued with this power of seeing the truth, thousands of white rib-
bon women who understood the art of progressive planning and con-
structive conversation, invested their time in systematic work that
helped to give all classes of society a new concept of human values.
Because it was Christianity applied, the plan of the "Do Everything
Policy" was eagerly followed. It was an evolution as inevitable as any
traced by the biologist, or described by the historian. The fight for
a clear brain was an inclusive, as well as a peaceful warfare. All
temperance activities of men and women previous to the organization
of the W. C. T. U. had been conducted in one straight line — contact
with the drink maker and the drinker. A scientific age required study
of this subject in its correlations; and Frances Willard's plan allied
the W. C. T. U. with all other moral forces. This resulted in the
gradual adoption of forty departments of work under the six general
lines: — Preventive, Educational, Evangelistic, Social and Legislative —
besides the department of Organization ; two important branches formed
were the Young Woman's Branch and the Loyal Temperance Legion.
"Everything is not in the temperance reform, but the temperance
reform should be in everything" — a statement giving the pith of the
new policy, was a compelling ideal. As the white ribboners, praying,
persuading, educating and electrifying, accelerated the pace of public
opinion they saw on the banner lifted aloft by their leader, the winged
watch-word, "The fight for a clear brain is a fight for Christianit.v."
"A one-sided movement," Frances Willard often said, ''makes one-
sided advocates. Total abstinence is not the crucial virtue in life that
excuses financial crookedness, defamation of character, or habits of im-
purity. We have known persons who (because they had never touched
a drop of liquor) set themselves up as if they belonged to the royal
30
The Fight for a Clear Brain
line, but whose tongues were as corroding as alcohol itself and whose
narrowness had no competitor save a straight line." In answering,
years later, some who controverted her famous "Do Everything Policy"
Miss Willard gave this enlightening reply, "When we began the
delicate, difficult, and dangerous operation of dissecting out the alcohol
nerve from the body politic, we did not realize the intricacy of the
undertaking, nor the distances that must be traversed by the scalpel
of investigation and research. More than twenty j^ears have elapsed
since the call to battle sounded its bugle-note among the homes and
hearts of Hillsboro, Ohio. One thought, sentiment, and purpose ani-
mated those saintly praying Bands, whose names will never die out
from human history: 'Brothers, we beg of you not to drink and not
to sell — ' This was the single wailing note of these moral Paganinis,
playing on one string. It caught the universal ear and set the key
of that mighty orchestra, organized with so much toil and hardship,
in which mingle the tender and exalted strain of the clanging cornets
of science, the deep trombones of legislation, and the thunderous drums
of politics and parties. Standing in the valley, we look up and think
we see an isolated mountain ; climbing to its top, we see that it is but
one member of a range of mountains, many of them of well-nigh equal
altitude."
The views of educated and thoughtful women of various church
affiliations began to broaden. In their assemblies, for the first time
questions concerning the home and motherhood, from a national, gov-
ernmental and world-bettering stand-point were considered. The
genius of Frances Willard was seen in the twofold aspect of her plan
of activities — protection of the home and the awakening of womanhood.
"Woman," she said, "will bless and brighten every place she enters
and she will enter every place upon the round earth."
In a convention address given during this period of agitation and
education the national president emphasized the necessity of bringing
to the home, the church, and the electorate, the scientific and moral
reasons for total abstinence. In her prelude, she said: "You who are
here gathered from every quarter of this vast republic, are elected
delegates, with a great constituency behind you. Your relationships are
to the home that of protector; to the nation, that of purifier. Wliat
manner of persons ought we to be, who have come unto the kingdom
for such a time as this? I look beyond this hushed and hallowed scene
31
Women Torc h - b barer s
to the sweet homes where you are cherished, and to the sad homes
which your faith and works have brightened. I look beyond the end-
less procession of light-hearted boys and girls, with shining faces and
satchels on their arms obedient this morning to the sound of the
school-going bell. I look beyond the radiant flag flying peacefully
over this radiant land, and then I look at the two hundred and fifty
thousand reeking and cavernous grogshops of America, while my heart
bows with yours beneath the measureless meaning of it all, and our
relation to the future's awful battle for the saving of the homes and
the downfall of the liquor traffic." There was an enthusiastic response
to this heroic, intimate appeal.
May we not liken the Woman's Christian Temperance Union to a
life-giving tree, the various departments as branches and leaves, reach-
ing out for the health and protection of all the people? It is a tree of
God's own planting, of which poetically it may be said:
"The wind that blows can never hurt the tree God plants :
It bloweth East, it bloweth West, the tender leaves have little
rest,
But every wind that blows is best; the tree God plants
Strikes deeper root, spreads wider boughs, grows higher still,
For Grod's good-will meets all its needs."
"Organized Mother-Love," as so aptly the W. C. T. U. has been
called, well knew the value of striking deeper root. Through two
generations, the principles of the W. C. T. U. have gripped the hearts
and minds of the boys and girls of America.
All over the country, throughout these campaigning years, num-
berless groups of young people sang Frances Willard's popular song,
"Saloons Must Go." This sentiment-making chorus was like the
shout of the triumphal host that marched around the walls of Jericho.
Did the liquor traffic "list" to the warning in "the tread of many feet,
from hill and farmhouse, school, and street"? Little they realized
that it was the children's crusade march — the march of victorjs the
march of total abstinence that in a generation gathered impetus and
numbers until it helped break down the walls of the liquor traffic.
How these children grown to manhood and womanhood rejoiced as
the stars and stripes floated over a sober capitol and a sober nation.
Verily, "work on the foundation is hidden and slow, but the firmer
32
1 ^ d^^Ctrrr^^-^
1^^ :i^if^^p^U[!^^*^^^ ^^^5'UA>;
First verse of "Saloons Must Go"
A facsimile of Frances E. Willard's original copy.
T H E Fight for a Clear Brain
you make it, the higher you go." The children of every English-speak-
ing people loved to sing the marching cadences of "Saloons Must Go"
and its rendering by a thousand public school children was one joyful
event of an evening mass meeting held in Toronto, Canada, in con-
nection with a convention of the World's W. C. T. U. Frances
Willard was deeply stirred when presented by a winsome child, with
a beautiful bouquet of flowers. She told the eager boys and girls and
the students who filled the galleries, of her belief that they would help
establish for their homes and their country the highest and holiest
habits of life.
With enthusiasm, they arose and repeated with her one of her own
original watchwords, "Character is habit crystallized." How this
popular song, "Saloons Must Go," came to be written is a little story
of precious memory to Anna Gordon. Her widely used "Marching
Songs for Young Crusaders" — a standard series — were active vote-
makers and another number was desired. "You must write a song
for this new book, Frank," Anna Gordon said to Miss Willard when
one day they were on the train going home from Chicago to Evanston.
With her usual spontaneity, Frances Willard replied, as she tapped her
foot rhythmically on the floor, "Shall it not be a march like this, Anna,
and I'll call it 'Saloons Must Go.' " In less than half an hour, as the
train reached Evanston, the copy for this soulful song was completed.
One stanza just as it was written is given.
Mary T. Lathrap, the "Daniel Webster" of the W. C. T. U., who
often had been thrilled as she heard this song, on one occasion en-
thusiastically exclaimed to a large audience, "If you put down your
ear and listen, you will hear the tramp, tramp, tramp of ten thousand
little feet, some of them in kid slippers, some of them in copper-toed
shoes, and some of them, bless their dear little hearts, barefoot, and
they have total abstinence pledges in their hands."
The ultimate goal of the white ribbon women was the protection
of the homes and streets of every rural community and municipality.
In the endeavor to secure safety for their loved ones, the women were
learning the uses of strategy and common-sense, in the diffiailt opera- (^
tion of "dissecting out the alcohol nerve from the body politic." They
knocked persistently at the door of the public school and Sunday school,
and organized for the children-at-large the Loyal Temperance Legion.
Here, they put into practice the scientific and moral teaching of the
33
Women Torch-bearers
/
public and Sunday schools and into the lives of more than twenty
million boys and girls there came the assurance that the privileges
guaranteed under the Constitution — "life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness" would be theirs. Through the national leadership of the
Loyal Temperance Legion for many years of Helen G. Rice of Boston,
who had in Massachusetts the splendid backing of Mary A. Liver-
more, pledged Loyal Temperance Legion boys and girls held rallies,
oratorical and musical contests — presenting the alcohol question from
every conceivable standpoint. Mark Twain endorsed the viewpoint of
the women who were building for a better citizenship when character-
istically he said : "Training is everj^thing. The peach was once a
bitter almond, and the cauliflower is only a cabbage with a college
education."
It was the dawn of the triumphant day of Federal Prohibition
when the National W. C. T. U. secured in Congress and in all the
states, beneficent laws requiring scientific temperance instruction in the
public schools. Heroic scenes were enacted that might well be de-
picted in pageants. This mighty victory was naturally evolved from
Frances Willard's initial plan given in 1874 at the first W. C. T. U.
convention — "Teaching children in Sabbath schools and public schools
the ethics, chemistry and hygiene of total abstinence." Miss Willard
inaugurated temperance instruction in juvenile unions, and in 1875
recommended that Miss Julia Coleman's "Temperance Catechism," and
the temperance text books, "The Bible Rule of Temperance," and "Al-
cohol and Tobacco," should be thoroughly taught members of the
juvenile unions.
In 1876, it was resolved that "the ruinous work done in our col-
leges and universities by intemperance should arouse our great fear
and awaken our greatest efforts to secure such moral influence and
such legislation as shall protect the gifted sons of this republic from
this curse which makes all culture vain and all life a failure." The
same year it was recommended "that our children in our public schools
be taught the effect of alcohol on the sj^stem and Miss Willard asked
that a manual of instruction and exercises should be published for the
use of juvenile societies; also that a committee be appointed intro-
ducing temperance work into schools and colleges, saying that "three
years of experience seem to indicate that the children of a country
may be reached best through the schools." One of the resolutions
34
The Fight for a Clear Brain
passed was as follows: ''That we recognize the relation of scientific
truth to temperance and that we urge the teaching of God's natural
laws respecting heredity and health as an essential part of temperance
education."
At the W. C. T. U. convention of 1878, Mrs. Susan J. Steele of
Appleton, Wisconsin, became chairman of the committee on colleges,
seminaries and public schools. By Miss Willard's special invitation,
Mrs. Mary Hanchett Hunt of Boston, Massachusetts, attended the
convention of 1879, and was appointed chairman of the standing com-
mittee of scientific temperance instruction. In 1880, at the con-
vention held in Boston, Mrs. Hunt spoke of Sir Benjamin Ward
Richardson's text-books as having been introduced into several of the
states; also of the new primary book by Miss Julia Coleman of New
York, of which she said, 'This has been prepared with the utmost care
and with reference to authenticity of statement and is, we feel, just
what we want." In 1880, the designation of chairman having been
changed to that of superintendent. Miss Willard nominated Mary Han-
chett Hunt for superintendent of the department of Scientific Temper-
ance Instruction, and she was elected unanimously. As Mary Hanchett,
the natural sciences had been the specialty of the new superintendent,
and in this department she taught with a success foretelling her life
work. After her marriage, her interest in scientific studies continued.
In 1873, when the Woman's Temperance Crusade swept over the coun-
try, reaching the east, Mrs. Hunt's thoughts were turned to the
physiological or scientific side of the temperance question. These im-
pressions were intensified by listening to lectures on "Alcohol and the
Brain" given by Rev. Joseph Cook of Boston.
The seed-thought of teaching the children of all public school grades
the value of total abstinence to a life, dropped into Mrs. Hunt's achiev-
ing soul, came to splendid fruition.
"The Star of Hope of the Temperance Reform Stands over the
Schoolhouse" was her watchword, as valiantly and nationally she bat-
tled for laws making mandatory, scientific temperance instruction in
the public schools. In answer to Mrs. Hunt's cogent appeals, boards
of education elected by beer-and whisky-drinking constituents said to
her, "We must teach only what the law requires." Adequately backed
by the National W. C. T. U., Mrs. Hunt proceeded to see that the
law required in every state the teaching of scientific temperance. She
35
Women Torc h- b barer s
made a careful study, in her travels, of the best and latest researches
in England and France, as well as in America, concerning the effect
of alcoholic stimulants upon the tissues of the body and the temper of
the soul. Her board of counselors was comprised of men of the high-
est distinction both in this country and abroad. The story of this mar-
velous campaign and of Mary Hunt's great generalship, as well as the
splendid co-operation of the W. C. T. U., is recounted in the libraries
of all English speaking nations; it was Mrs. Hunt's custom to exhibit
at each National W. C. T. U. convention, a map of the United States,
each state being covered with a black cap. When a commonwealth
secured a mandatory law requiring scientific temperance instruction in
the schools, the black cap, amid cheers, was removed.
Before cutting the stitches from the black cap covering Georgia,
the last state to secure the law, Mrs, Hunt said: "I stand in the pres-
ence of this map grateful for what God hath wrought. Its whitening
fields, as cap after cap has been taken from these states, speak of divine
purposes of mercy to us as a nation. My heart goes out to the hun-
dreds of thousands of women, the great rank and file of the Woman's
Christian Temperance Union who have stood by in carrying out
every plan that led to the victory." Mrs. Katharine Lent Stevenson of
Boston said at this celebration: "We know that Frances Willard, the
founder of the World's W. C. T. U. and the greatest organizer of the
century, never showed her own powers of discerning leadership more
clearly than when she nominated you, Mrs. Hunt, in 1879, as chair-
man of the committee which afterwards became the department of
Scientific Temperance Instruction. We are glad to come in for our
share, as individuals, in your great victory, since 'we all belong' to the
great organization which has helped to make them possible. We con-
gratulate Georgia — the last state to pass the Scientific Temperance In-
struction law."
The law in its provisions is far reaching. West Point Academy,
the Naval Academy, all the territories and the District of Columbia
are obliged, in any teaching supported by Federal funds, to give a
prescribed amount of instruction upon the physiological effects of
alcohol. It is believed generally by the allied temperance and religious
forces that this temperance educational victory was the greatest factor
in securing a Federal prohibitory law. It is still the strongest element
in making public sentiment for the observance and enforcement of law.
30
Mrs. Hannah J. Bailey Mrs. Anna S. Benjamin Mrs. Edith Smith Davis
Mrs. Adelia E. Carman Mrs. J. K. Barney Mrs. Sallie F. Chapin
Mrs. Emilia D. Martin Mrs. Mary H. Hunt Miss Elizabeth W. Greenwood
The Fight for a Clear Brain
At Mrs. Hunt's request, in 1903, at the National W. C. T. U. con-
vention held in Cincinnati, Ohio, the name of the Scientific Temper-
ance Instruction department was changed to the Bureau of Scientific
Temperance Investigation and department of Scientific Temperance
Instruction in Schools and Colleges. It is well to remember Mrs.
Hunt's wise insistence that the children in the lower grades of the
public schools should receive their full share of scientific temperance
instruction — as a large number of them never reached the higher grades.
In this extract from one of her addresses are seen the educational ideals
and scientific facts that Mrs. Hunt gave to an oncoming generation:
"The slavery of alcohol and other narcotics is the worst of human
bondages because it tends to become a willing bondage that enslaves the
soul as well as the body of its victim, while it mortgages his children
to the enslaver. It must be overthrown if our race is to move on,
through generation after generation, up the heights of its utmost pos-
sibilities. The popular use of alcohol, usually begun in ignorance of
its seductive power, is a menace to that capacity for self-government
without which a republic must ultimately perish. A republic has no
power with which it can compel majorities. As long as a majority
of the people believe in alcohol, they will drink it, and they will vote
for the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages. If we want the
saloon closed, we must teach the majority, the law-making power, that
alcohol is by nature an outlaw that should be banished from human
habits and traffic. Compulsory scientific temperance instruction in
the public schools is the one method that reaches the coming majorities.
"All history is the aggressive advance of the future upon the past,
the field of collision being the present. Coming generations with clear
brains and untainted blood are aggressively advancing on the alcoholic
past of our inheritance, and are demanding of us a wise selection of
weapons for this 'collision,' which is primarily a battle against ideas
inciting to the drink habit that enslaves the drinker. It is the clash of
the new teaching of modern science, that alcohol is a poison at war
with human well-being, against the old notion that alcohol is a good
creature of God for human sustenance. Here are the weapons for
this warfare:
"1. Scientific investigation as to the character of alcohol and its
effects on the human system.
37
Women Torch-bearers
"2. The widest difFusion of that truth.
"Education through the schools of all the people in the plastic
period of childhood, before the appetite for alcohol is formed, in the
physiological reasons for total abstinence from alcoholic drinks and
other narcotics is the sane and sure method for the dethronement of
alcohol. It is sane and sure because history has shown that in the
ultimate contest truth is the strongest of all forces. God has so made
the human mind that it can not be forever inhospitable to truth which,
sooner or later, overthrowing ancient error, sits enthroned in conscience,
guiding human action.
"The child is born who will see the last legalized saloon, brewery
and distillery of alcoholic drinks disappear from the land if we now
do our part and get the truth to the people, to the majority, which is
the law-making power. The day is surely coming when from the
schoolhouses all over the land will come trained haters of alcohol to
pour a whole Niagara of ballots upon the saloon."
After Mrs. Hunt's death in 1906, Mrs. Mary F. Lovell, Mrs.
Hunt's department associate, was in charge of the important work
until the National W. C. T. U. convention held in Hartford, in No-
vember, 1906, when Mrs. Edith Smith Davis of Milwaukee, Wiscon-
sin, was elected national superintendent.
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union was most fortunate
in securing another widely known leader of exceptional ability. Of
distinguished English descent, college-bred and an author of reputa-
tion, Mrs. Davis easily obtained a strong board of counselors which
included men of recognized authority in science, medicine, philosophy
and religion. Seeking to build on the enduring foundations already
established by Mrs. Hunt and the W. C. T. U., Mrs. Davis toiled
incessantly, and soon won for herself and her cause, friends and fame.
In one of her first public utterances she said:
"Upon the broad basis of the past, we rest our hopes and our efiforts
for the greater work of the future. Law and gospel, fact and theory,
science and sympathetic co-operation will all be blended in the great
results which are yet to be achieved through this important line of
work evolved and carried forward by the W. C. T. U. The latest
statement of expert scientific investigation in relation to alcohol is that
alcohol is a protoplasmic poison to all forms of organic life, and it is
impossible to say what minimal amount can be taken and not be harm-
38
The Fight for a Clear Brain
ful to the tissues of the body. You tell me that Jeffries, the prize
fighter, went down before Johnson. I tell you, no, Jeffries went down
before alcohol. That is the history of every prize fighter from John
L. Sullivan down to the present day. I look across the seas and I see
those magnificent Olympic games over in Stockholm where the water-
drinking American boys carried off trophy after trophy. I see Germany,
England, France and Italy looking in amazement at the temperate
Americans and I say, thank God for the truth which is being taught
in colleges and the universities of the United States — that the athlete
must leave alcohol and tobacco out of his life."
Through travel, Mrs. Davis came in close touch with the scientists
of Europe as well as of the United States. She attended the meetings
of the Congress Against Alcoholism in Stockholm and London; and in
1911, at the Hague personally investigated the schools and temperance
conditions in many a country of Europe. After years of experience,
Mrs. Davis, in one of her most forceful addresses, gave a most reveal-
ing incident: ''Where there is no vision," she said, "the people per-
ish. I have studied not only the children in the slums of New York,
Chicago and St. Louis, but the little folk in the slums of Dublin, Glas-
gow, Edinburgh and London. I have looked into the white, pinched
faces of children who have been robbed of their birthright by their own
fathers and mothers ; little ones who have come into this world crippled
physically, mentally, morally and spiritually. General Booth in 'Dark-
est England,' wrote : 'They are not born into this world ; they are
damned into it.' I want you to think for a minute of the children
who have been robbed of that which can never be estimated in terms
of dollars and cents. We know that alcohol, having a special affinity
for the brain, puts to sleep the centers of inhibition and the boy taking
it in any form is robbed of his self-control, while every animal passion
is stimulated. We know that the child may be cursed before he is born
by two dreadful venereal diseases and that back of both is alcoholism,
"Let me describe a scene which I witnessed in one of the most beau-
tiful school buildings of St. Louis. As the teacher took a cluster of
roses and pinned it to a curtain, she said: 'One.' Then she placed
beside it another cluster of roses and said, 'One and one make how
many?' And although some of the children had been with her for more
than eight years, not a child in the room could tell how many one and
one made. I asked the teacher if she could tell me the kinds of homes
39
V
Women Torc h - b e arer s
from which those children came. She replied, 'This is a very expensive
private institution. We have a separate teacher and a separate atten-
dant for each child. These children are from the richest, most beauti-
ful homes in St. Louis and they are what they are through the drink
habits of their fathers and their mothers.' "
Both Mrs. Hunt and Mrs. Davis specialized in the training of
teachers — giving lectures in grade and high schools, and at summer
institutes. Educators prized the scientific journals, charts, and carefully
prepared experiments furnished by these leaders. On the death of Mrs.
Davis, Mrs. Elizabeth O. Middleton of Kansas City, Missouri, was
chosen national superintendent of the department. Ably and indefatig-
ably she pushed the work along the lines so v/ell established. Miss
Cora Frances Stoddard of Boston, who had been made the head of the
National Bureau of Scientific Temperance Investigation became later
the national superintendent in schools and colleges, while Mrs. Middle-
ton continued to fill the important position of a department field worker.
In a later chapter, the continued triumphs of this department will be
given.
In this era, before the advent of the automobile, phonograph and
moving picture, temperance mass meetings everywhere were popular,
and large audiences assembled to hear the women speakers. Through
the columns of the daily press, their speeches reached millions of readers
and the W, C. T. U., this "tree" of God's own planting, rapidly
"spread wider boughs" and grew "higher still." Frances Willard, al-
ways lecturing on the scientific phase of temperance, burned out her life
for the childhood of the nation and of the world. Her creed, "My life
a vow," was no conventional impulsive statement. It really voiced as
did Mrs. Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "Cry of the Children" an im-
passioned, unflagging desire for the protection of the boys and girls.
Many of Miss Willard's heartfelt utterances almost unconsciously were
woven into the fabric of educational, social and civic life.
The states having a Temperance Day in the public schools are:
Alabama, Tennessee, JCansas, New Mexico, Kentucky, Wisconsin,
Pennsylvania, Maine, Mississippi, Oregon, North Dakota, Missouri,
South Dakota, South Carolina, Nevada, Nebraska, Ohio, North Caro-
lina, Minnesota, Georgia, Washington. In many of these common-
wealths the special temperance day is named for Frances Willard.
40
The Fight for a Clear Brain
It requires great valor to be a hero on the battle field, but often a
higher type of courage is displayed on the moral and civic field. Cap-
tain Richmond Pearson Hobson, the acknowledged naval hero of the
Spanish war, was acclaimed a still greater hero in the national peace-
ful war against King Alcohol. When Lieutenant Hobson bravely risked
his life and under fire from the enemy sank the "Merrimac" in Santiago
Harbor, he had the clear, electric brain of a young man who had never
used alcoholic liquors. As the "Merrimac" went down Lieutenant Hobson
with the seven sailors under his command, took to a raft and after sev-
eral hours they were hailed by an enemy's launch, that of Admiral Cer-
vera, the Spanish commander. The admiral, on learning the identity
of Lieutenant Hobson, called out to him with fine Castilian courtesy,
"Bravo, young man!" The captain and his men were taken on shore
and made prisoners of war.
Tramping up and down in his narrow prison cell, he looked out
between the bars and saw in the distance the Spanish flag flying from
a Spanish blockhouse beyond San Juan hill. He could not help asso-
ciating it with oppression and wondered what would happen when the
United States flag that stands for universal liberty should arrive. One
afternoon he heard the great guns as a battle was fought, and then he
saw the Spanish flag fall and in its place appeared the stars and stripes.
Later, all over the United States, the school children were given Cap-
tain Hobson's dynamic message. This is what the hero of the ''Merri-
mac" said: "The drink traffic is a menace to liberty — liberty for
which our flag stands. Every year, by the use of alcohol, the destroyer,
millions of our people have their standards of citizenship lowered. We
must eliminate this great agent, alcohol, that presses the standard down
far below its proper level."
Soon after Dr. Lemuel H. Murlin became president of Boston
University, he was asked to participate in a great temperance meeting
held in Park Street Church, Boston, Massachusetts. After many prom-
inent men had represented various societies. Dr. Murlin said that he
appreciated the record of all that had been done through these various
organizations. He thought, however, that the unprecedented, funda-
mental work accomplished through public schools, colleges, and homes
by the National Woman's Christian Temperance Union had been the
nation's most valuable temperance asset. Thoughtfully he said, "When
I was a student in one of the leading Kansas universities, we were told
41
Women Torch-bearers
that we were to have a temperance lecture — a lecture by a woman. We
men didn't look forward to this with any enthusiasm. We had an
electric thrill, however, when we saw before us Frances E. Willard,
who was in the prime of life, a charming personality, as well as a
J magnetic speaker. The fact that we lived in a prohibition state had
not made any vital impression upon most of us. Miss Willard, how-
ever, gave us a vision of the benefits of total abstinence and our oppor-
tunity to be patriots and enforce the prohibitory law in our own state ; so
helping the people of our entire nation to reach a higher civilization.
From that time, my active influence was on the side of total abstinence
and prohibition and it was from a national standpoint. Kansas suf-
fered from the importation of liquor from wet states, so I joined the
forces that were working for Federal prohibition. Do you wonder
that I honor the fundamental far-reaching work of the Woman's Chris-
tian Temperance Union?" The W. C. T. U. honors Dr. Murlin.
The truth of the "vision" seen by Dr. Cheever of Salem, Massa-
chusetts, early in the temperance reform was now becoming more widely
known. Always Dr. Cheever will be greatly honored as a pioneer in
the fearless defense of total abstinence and denunciation of the liquor
traffic. As little girls, many who afterwards became active in the
W. C. T. U., received their first impressions against alcoholic drink
while they shivered with childish fear, as they were shown from the
public platform pictures of "Deacon Giles' Distillery" in which little
devils were hilariously running about manufacturing and dispensing
alcoholic liquors. Here was depicted more of reality than vision.
It will be remembered that Dr. Cheever was prosecuted, convicted
and for thirty days imprisoned in the Salem (Massachusetts) jail. Not
long before his death. Dr. Cheever related this incident of strange
fruitage from his early seed-sowing: "I had preached in Boston, and
as I came down the aisle from the pulpit was accosted by a middle-aged,
well-dressed stranger who introduced himself as Mr. Giles, the son of
Deacon Giles, owner of the famous distillery. 'I stopped you, Dr.
Cheever,' he said, 'to thank you for writing that "Dream." It was the
means of making me think of the evil effects of distilling intoxicating
liquors, and determined me to give up the wicked business. It also
brought me to confess and renounce my sins and accept the offer of
salvation through Jesus Christ.' "
The W. C. T. U., on the threshold of a new Crusade, is emphasiz-
42
Lillian M. N. Stevens
The Fight for a Clear Brain
ing this authoritative and recent statement of one of the leading world
scientists, Dr. C. W. Saleeby of London, England, vice-president of
the National Temperance League and National Commercial Temper-
ance League: "Sixteen years ago," Dr. Saleeby says, "I included al-
cohol as one of those substances I called racial poisons. Most injurious
things do not poison the race. They hurt the individual and the injury
ends there. Thus nature is doing her best ever to preserve the life of
future generations. But certain agencies have this damnable quality
— they destroy posterity in and through parenthood in the present gene-
ration. I call them racial poisons."
For many years Maine, Kansas and North Dakota w^ere the only
prohibition states. An incident often related by Lillian M. N. Ste-
vens illustrates the inestimable benefit of total abstinence accruing even
at that early period to the boys and girls of a prohibition state. A
lively fourteen year old lad, w^ho w^as president of a Loyal Temperance
Legion in one of the smaller towns of Maine, accompanied his father
to Boston and was a silent listener to the conversation between his "dad"
and one of his Boston friends. They were sitting at a table enjoying
their dinner when this refined gentleman in praising the State of Maine,
said, "There is just one thing you need and that is a respectable saloon
in a respectable place, so that a respectable man can get a drink." The
men had forgotten entirely the presence of the boy. Suddenly he looked
up with astonished gaze at the Boston friend and said earnestly, "Ex-
cuse me, sir! Don't you know that respectable men don't drink in the
state of Maine?"
In the fight for a clear brain, no one was more highly esteemed
by the allied temperance forces, or more feared by the liquor men, than
was Mrs. Lillian M. N. Stevens. From its earliest years, Mrs. Ste-
vens was identified with the National W. C. T. U., attending as a dele-
gate the National Convention held at Newark, New Jersey, in 1876,
and assisting in all subsequent conventions. In 1880 she was chosen
assistant recording secretary and a few years later recording secretary.
A further record of Mrs. Stevens' devoted and brilliant W. C. T. TJ.
service is given in the chapters on Legislative Achievement, the World's
W. C. T. U. and the Eighteenth Amendment.
During the regime of local option, annual or biennial campaigns tor
license or no license were held, and children's choruses, drills and reci-
tations were powerful, winning factors. Drinking men were grateful
43
Women Torc h - b barer s
for the total abstinence instruction given their children. Mary A.
Livermore, then president of the Massachusetts W. C. T. U., as well
as a popular lyceum lecturer, often told how she came to organize a
Loyal Temperance Legion. In order to lure the men away from the
saloons, the Boston W. C. T. U. established coffee houses. Many drinkers
were reformed, but found it difficult to remain sober. One of these,
the father of promising boys, seeing legalized saloons on nearly every
corner tempting his sons, in desperation sought Mrs. Livermore and
said, "We men are truly grateful for the help you are giving us but,
lady, we are badly damaged by the drink. We shall never be what
we might have been. If you can do anything for anybody, we want
you to save our boys."
Mary Livermore and all home-loving men and women ardently en-
dorsed these eloquent words of Frances Willard regarding the danger
to the brain and body of using, even moderately, alcoholic liquors:
"The human brain with its fair, delicate, mystical filaments, is God's
night-blooming cereus, its white radiance forever inclosed and shut
away from sight within the close crypt of the skull, but exhaling its
fragrance in poetry and revealing its deep pure heart in science, philo-
sophy and religion. The brain must think with lightning speed, the
hand must be steadfast as steel, the pulse must beat strong, yet true, if
a great commercial nation is to hold its own with the forces of chem-
istry, electricity, and invention now on the field.
"We have the testimony of a great chemist, the late Dr. Nichols
(for many years editor of the Journal of Chemistry, Boston) 'that the
resources of that magical science are such that every useful purpose
ever served by alcohol has been already superseded by chemicals already
known to the laboratory and soon to be everyday articles of commerce.'
"What is it that the indifferent doctor, editor, public school teacher,
and Sunday school teacher lacks? What is it? The arrest of thought.
What people lack is imagination. Evil is wrought for want of thought
more than for want of heart. Suppose that in this day of science, the
school should echo the mother's total abstinence teachings. Suppose
that with the majesty of law and dignity of learning, the state should
require and the teacher inculcate lessons like these. Then, indeed, it
would be manly to let strong drink alone. Then it would be steadily
wrought into the warp and woof of boyhood's character and habit to
abstain from fleshly lusts that war against the soul. But all the way
44
The Fight for a Clear Brain
toward manhood that dramshop so seductive has been just across the
street. The boy has found out that in municipal council room, legisla-
tive hall, and national Congress, the so-called guardians of the public
weal have been the guardians of the liquor traffic. The logical outcome
of total abstinence is total prohibition. In our day, this must come
through ballots as a result of home, school and church training that
will make those who vote conscientious on this subject."
In this period of W. C. T. U. history, white ribbon leaders, in
their fight for a clear brain, considered the hygienic and temperance
findings of the physiological laboratories, both in America and abroad,
their greatest asset. Through the efforts of public and Sunday school
teachers, the Young People's Branch of the W. C. T. U. and the
Loyal Temperance Legion, these scientific facts formed a basis for pub-
lic school essays, elocutionary medal contests, Sunday school temperance
concerts, posters in shop windows, exhibits in booths on fair grounds,
in articles given to the cosmopolitan press, and leaflets sent out as
"leaves of healing."
The following were some of the scientific data and appeals that
through W. C. T. U. publicity moulded public thought: "If we can
safeguard the young to the utmost," said Sir Thomas Barlow, Physician
to King Edward VII, "and not only keep alcohol away from them,
but make them realize from early years the terrible ills that it brings
to body and soul, then there may be some chance of the next generation
looking at the whole subject in its true light, and our children's chil-
dren may realize that abstinence is not fanaticism or asceticism, but
rational self-control in respect to something which is fraught with un-
told risks."
"The sale of drink is the sale of disease; the sale of drink is the
sale of poverty; the sale of drink is the sale of insanity; the sale of
drink is the sale of crime ; the sale of drink is the sale of death." This
was one of the greatest sayings of that great man. Sir Benjamin Ward
Richardson — given to the world in 1892. "Drink causes more injury
to humanity than war, pestilence and famine combined," was the force-
ful dictum of William E. Gladstone.
In America, in the less enlightened day of medical practice, a dis-
cerning physician declared: "When a patient is cold, we give him al-
cohol. When the patient has fever, we give him alcohol. When the
patient is sick from any cause, we give him alcohol, and when he is
45
Women To rc h - b e ar er s
well, he takes it himself. The use of alcohol has led to most of the
vice and crime with which our country has been plagued."
Under the direction of Dr. J. H. Kellogg at the Battle Creek Sani-
tarium, (Michigan), a great variety of experiments were made con-
firming and verifying the results obtained by European observers, and
showing in the use of alcohol, the same physiological, psychological and
pathological depression and anaesthesia leading up to final paralysis.
Dr. Winfield S. Hall of Chicago, Illinois, declared that laboratory
tests had proved these facts : "Alcohol cannnot be considered a food ;
alcohol decreases the efficiency of muscle, glands, and nervous system;
alcohol is a narcotic in its drug action ; alcohol given in minute quan-
tities to lower animals seriously impairs fecundity. It leads to race
suicide."
A number of important insurance companies aroused public opinion
proving that the longevity of the abstainer ranged from thirty to forty
per cent greater than that of the moderate drinker,
A director of athletics made this authoritative statement: "I pos-
itively know from experience in fifteen Marathon races both in this
country and England that alcohol used in any form in a race of this
kind is a great detriment. Whisky nerves and beer-weakened muscles
are spotted on the instant on the diamond." "Without the factor of right
living, any measure of success on the diamond is impossible," said "Hur-
ry-Up" Yost. Frederick Robertson defines true liberty thus: "People talk
of liberty as if it means the liberty to do just what a man likes. I call that
man free who is able to rule himself. I call him free who has learned the
most blessed of all truths, that liberty consists in obedience to the power
and to the will and to the law that his higher soul reverences and ap-
proves. He is not free because he does what he likes ; but he is free
because he does what he should, and there is no protest in his soul
against that doing."
The stabilization of total abstinence sentiment was hastened by
widely heralded current temperance events. The story of this period
of agitation and education would not be complete without some record
of the achievements of courageous men and women who, for conscience
sake, and the good of others, overcame avarice and prejudice.
One of the earliest Americans to work for total abstinence was
General Neal Dow of Portland, Maine. The story of his life deserves
to be recounted — from generation to generation: In 1836, Neal Dow
46
The Fight for a Clear Brain
for the sake of a refined woman suffering from the drinking habits of
her husband, visited in Portland a rum seller and endeavored to per-
suade him not to sell any more rum to this gentleman, in whom he was
so interested. He was told the man was not in the saloon, but hearing
voices, he opened the back door, found him and awakened his moral
sense. Then General Dow appealed to the saloon-keeper telling him
that if he would refuse to sell liquor to the man, he would not go else-
where to obtain it. The liquor dealer replied, angrily, that it was his
business to sell rum and that he supported his family in this way and
did not want any advice. Mr. Dow replied, "It is your business to sell
rum, is it? You have a license to sell rum, have you? Heaven help-
ing me, I'll change all that!" Then Mr. Dow began the battle. A
friend helped him, and together they went all over the state for years
creating public sentiment and holding meetings in school houses, town
halls and churches. There were only a few railroads, so Mr. Dow
took his carriage and sleigh and drove over the length and breadth of
Maine. In 1851, after the prohibition law was enacted, Mr. Dow
traveled through the state again. He found the jails and poor houses
nearly empty, though they had been crowded with inmates. Maine
had been the poorest state in the Union. It became one of the most
prosperous. General Dow lived to be ninety-three years of age. His
birthday, March 20, is one of the Red Letter days of the W. C. T. U.
When he was only twenty-three years of age, he was president of the
fire company. According to their custom, they ordered liquors to
be served on a social occasion, but rescinded their vote because of his
earnest protest.
In 1885, an army general quite unknown to temperance circles,
made on Commencement Day, a most significant total abstinence appeal
to the graduating cadets at West Point, when, as a prerequisite to their
promotion, he urged them to let alcoholic drinks severely alone. A big
prohibition parade, aided by the W. C. T. U., caused a great stir in
Chicago — more than a score of years ago. Headed by General Fred-
erick Dent Grant, in uniform, and taking hours to pass in review, it
brought consternation to the liquor men, who at nearly every corner
stood before their saloons — seven thousand licensed and many illegal
places. The banners carried by boys and girls, men and women, voiced
the protection of the home and the doom of drink. The appeal and
warning sent by Gen. Frederick Grant to the boys of the nation, in pur-
47
Women Torc h - b barer s
port was this: "Tell the boys not to drink. Tell the boys I do not
drink because I am afraid to drink." In his message he took the boj^s
into his confidence by telling them incidents of his early life in the
White House and at West Point where he was "treated" and feted be-
cause he was the President's son. Observing later, the harmful effect
of wine and beer on himself and others, he ever after at social func-
tions courteously declined the tempting glass and even the alluring
"punch." The leadership of General Frederick Grant in the parade,
wearing the full uniform of the United States Army, caused the brewers
and distillers of Chicago to send the War Department at Washington,
an angry protest, that Secretary Dickinson wisely pronounced unworthy
of consideration.
General Grant, in reply to this protest said, "it was most appro-
priate for a United States general to head a Law and Order parade;
and that was the character of the one in which I so happily partici-
pated."
Andrew Carnegie, who, late in life, addressed a company of railway
men, said, "A drinking man should have no place in a railway system,
indeed, he should have no place anywhere." One of the compelling
reasons why Andrew Carnegie did so much to multiply libraries all over
the country is the fact that the free public library with the reading
habit which it creates could be made at that time so powerful an offset
to the ever curseful saloon.
John B. Gough, an orator of inimitable force, showed the inner
urge of his life when he declared: "While I can talk against the
drink, I'll talk; and when I can only whisper, I'll do that; and when
I can't whisper any longer, faith, I'll make motions — they say I'm good
at that," He talked right on against the drink evil until he lacked but
six months of being seventy years of age, speaking nearly 9,000 times to
at least nine millions of people, and traveling 450,000 miles to reach
them. His last words spoken with superhuman earnestness to a great
audience were these: "Young man, keep j^our record clean." Mr. and
Mrs. Gough as personal friends of Frances Willard ever co-oper-
ated with W. C. T. U. activities.
A brave pioneer in medical temperance was Dr. Nathan S. Davis,
of Chicago. As a medical student, he did not question the statements of
his professors who thought that in certain cases alcoholic liquors should
be used. As a young practicing physician, however, he encountered oc-
4S
The Fight for a Clear Brain
casionally, patients who refused to take alcoholic liquor as a medicine,
and was surprised to find that he was more successful with such pa-
tients than with others with similar diseases who used alcoholic pre-
scriptions. He was determined to find out the scientific truth, and ob-
tained the control of a ward in a Chicago hospital, where he prescribed
no alcoholic liquors — no matter what the disease. Before this occurred.
Dr. Davis had written for the Journal of the American Medical Asso-
ciation stating his belief that alcoholic liquors as medicines should be
discontinued. There was scarcely a doctor who agreed with him, and
he was called a fanatic. He continued his practice in the hospital
ward for some years; and as he compared results with the patients in
hospitals where alcoholic liquors were given, most favorable results were
noted. These scientific findings, from time to time were given in the
national medical journal and Dr. Davis won a reputation for note-
worthy scientific research. Later, he was elected president of the
American Medical Association. In the Stock Yards district of Chi-
cago, is a community-center building, on which is a handsome tablet,
bearing this inscription: "To the memory of Dr. Nathan S. Davis,
physician and philanthropist." It is interesting to know that in
Evanston, where are located the headquarters of the National W. C.
T. U., the principal street bears the distinguished name of "Davis."
In 1889, Hon. John D. Long, Secretary of the Navy, gave an "ar-
rest of thought" to ease-loving wine and beer drinkers when he pro-
hibited the use of alcoholic liquor in the "mess" of the navy cadets and
seamen. In the homes of these boys, fathers and mothers thanked God
for such a brave official.
At an influential mass meeting held in Washington, D. C, Hon.
Seaborn Wright of Georgia said that southern statesmen were now
heartily in favor of observing total abstinence in the business world and
in the usages of society. 'Trances Willard and those who have fol-
lowed her, have been most welcome in our southland," he courteously
remarked. "Statesmen in the north surprised at the rapidity with which
southern states have become dry, often exclaim to me, 'Of course it is
because of the negro that you have outlawed the liquor business!' 'Not
so!' I answer, 'I want all our northern friends to realize that while
we believe the sober negro is the only desirable colored man, we did
not fight the liquor traffic on his account alone. We saw first of all,
the direful need of saving from the alcohol habit our own youth.
49
Women Torc h - b barer s
Knowing well, as I do, through my profession the best people of the
south, I do not hesitate to say that there is scarcely a family that has
not been damaged by this accursed liquor business. Even many of our
daughters are suffering because they have married young men who,
because of drink, have ruined or debased their homes.' "
Judge Ben B. Lindsey, of Denver, another pathfinder in the tem-
perance world, popularly called the "kid's judge," was warmly aided in
his "probation" activities, by the W. C. T. U,, and many a white rib-
boner became a successful probation officer. The following stirrfng
statements made by Judge Lindsey at a W. C. T. U. convention secured
for the Juvenile Court the support of all true friends and guardians
of childhood. "About 100,000 boys," he said, "are brought to jafi
every year. It is an inspiring mission in life to have any part what-
ever in helping these boys and girls. The first commandment of the
'gang' is 'thou shalt not snitch;' 95% of the boys we have tried to help
have turned out well ; it is because we have treated the boys 'on the
square.' In the old days all we dealt with was the thing the boy did.
Now, we go back of the deed and interest ourselves in the boy ; and
there is nothing in the world so valuable as a boy — except a girl." The
Juvenile Court work is, after all, palliative. It was never the inten-
tion that it should be a cure-all. It affords much better methods of
caring for the child who is a victim, by heredity and circumstance, of
many evils than did the old jail and the criminal court system.
Students of temperance history recall the gratifying fact that Gen-
eral U. S. Grant, in traveling around the world was an abstainer from
alcoholics at the banquets of kings and the nobility; also that Mrs.
Grant when Mistress of the White House banished intoxicants on New
Year's day, not only from her own table, but through personal influence,
largely from the cabinet circle.
Fashionable society gasped when the first lady of the land, Mrs.
Lucy Webb Hayes, with the approval of the president, not only turned
her own wine glass upside down but allowed no alcoholic liquors to be
served at the White House social functions or diplomatic dinners. The
social prestige of the Mistress of the WTiite House was in no way
diminished. The National W. C. T. U. through its president, Miss
Frances Willard, presented to the White House a life-size oil painting
of Mrs. Hayes. This gift was from the entire constituency of the
W. C. T. U. and represented their high appreciation of Mrs, Ha5Ts'
50
The Fight for a Clear Brain
nobility and bravery. David Huntington of New York City, President
of the National Academy of Design, was the artist. A frame carved
under the superintendence of Ben Pitman by students of the Cincinnati
Art School was presented by ladies of that city, and a photogravure of
the picture was executed by Barry, of Philadelphia. In the spring of
1881, while Washington was in gala attire, in the presence of an im-
mense evening audience, the picture, ten feet in height and seven in
width, was unveiled by Dr. Frederick Merrick, a well-known professor
in Ohio Wesleyan University.
In presenting the portrait, Frances Willard said, "Before we can
at all estimate the significance to the temperance cause of the example
of Mrs. Lucy Webb Hayes, we must turn away from, the victories al-
ready gained and contemplate the mountains of difficulty that loom up
ahead of our advancing hosts. There are three mighty realms of in-
fluence which the temperance reform, based as it is upon science, experi-
ence and the golden rule, has hardly yet invaded. The world of fine
arts, of romance and of fashion still sneers at total abstinence. From
the days of Homer and Virgil to those of Tennyson and Longfellow,
the poets have been singing in tuneful cadences the praises of wine.
From Praxiteles to Powers, the sculptors have delighted to idealize the
coarse features of Bacchus. From the antique frescoes of Pompeii down
to those of Meissonier, the choicest pigments of the painter have been
lavished to furnish forth convivial feasts. Heroes have been men
mighty to drink wine and heroines have found their prototype in Hebe,
cup bearer to the gods. Now be it remembered that the poet, the ar-
tist and the novelist, mighty interpreters of nature and the soul, will
always maintain their empire over the human heart so long as it Is. a
willing captive to the love of beauty and the beauty of love, so that until
we win an assured place for the temperance reform in these supremely
influential realms of thought and expression, our success cannot be con-
sidered permanent. Until Genius, with her starry eyes, shall be gently
persuaded to lay her choicest trophies at the feet of temperance, there
will remain for us much territory to be possessed. This beautiful por-
trait, soon to be displayed, painted by the noblest master of his art in
all the land is the 'avant courier' of many a trophy which our cause
is yet to win.
"Think what it means to the total abstinence cause that the first lady
of the republic, instead of cherishing intoxicating liquors as the emblem
51
Women Torc h- be arer s
of hospitality and kindness and good will, banishes them from cellar,
sideboard and table, as the enemies of her home and of the guests to
whom she would do honor. Wine has freely flowed in the houses in-
habited by the world's rulers. It was left for a Christian queen of
American society to be the first one who did not only hear but heeded
the voice of God. It has been like a torch held up in the gloom, a bea-
con flaming grandly on the most dangerous headland of the republic's
coast, and it shall grow and gather light and mount up to the zenith
like another sun shedding its genial rays into the darkest heart and
most desolate home."
During a later administration. Rose Elizabeth Cleveland, a sister of
the president, was a valued white ribboner and never served liquor at
her afternoon teas. On one occasion she publicly said: "Drink costs
us millions of criminals, thousands of paupers, thousands of ruined
women, and hundreds of thousands of men and women goaded by
misery into suicide or madness."
In 1908, Mrs. Zillah Foster Stevens related at the National W.
C. T. U. convention this remarkable story: "Until two years ago the
International Sunday School Association that directly teaches twenty-
six million children had no temperance department. It did do temper-
ance work, but not in an organized way. In addition to the quarterly
temperance lesson it has a temperance department now and this is its
standard for action — Every officer, teacher and scholar in the Sunday
School a total abstainer and a worker for the destruction of the liquor
traffic and for the extinction of the cigaret habit. There is a little
story at the bottom of the creation of that department and it tells why
I say that the temperance department of the Sunday School Association
is the big boy of the W. C. T. U.
"A few years ago one of our Sunday School officers had a letter.
It was from a mining town and the writer said, 'I was converted when
I was eleven years old. I am a member of the Methodist church; we
have ten saloons in this mining town and there is only this one Sunday
School and there isn't a Christian woman in the place, not one, and
I run the Sunday School and a young student comes over from the
church Sunda3's and helps me and I am the janitor and organist and a
teacher in the Sunday School. The boys in our town are going into
these ten saloons and I don't know what to do. Won't you please
send me help for temperance work in the Sunday School ?'
52
The Fight for a Clear Brain
"So they looked through all their pigeon holes of the missionary
work, primary work, cradle roll work and teachers' work and other
work and what do you think? They wrote to the writer of that letter.
They said, 'On temperance work we have nothing.' Think of it. And
then this officer, when he found out he had nothing and being a man who
wanted to get something right away, wrote me a letter telling me about
that place and I said I would better go to see what kind of a person it
was who was janitor, organist, teacher and was trying to do temper-
ance work. So I took a day off and went over there and I got off
right among the coal mines and looking around supposed I would
find a capable, self-assertive, vigorous woman. What do you think
I found? A little girl in short dresses with her braided hair hanging
nearly down to her shoe tops. She looked up at me in the most childish
way and I said, 'I am hunting for such and such a person.' 'Why,' she
said, 'here she is.' She looked like a flower. I said, 'How old are
you?' She said, 'fourteen.' And I said, 'How did you find out about
temperance work anyhow?' 'Oh, I wear a white ribbon.' Well, I
spent the day there and found that the child-janitor, organist, teacher,
superintendent, Christian, head of the cradle roll and home department
and so on was the single solitary influence between ten saloons and
the boys in that town. And think of it! When she wrote to the In-
ternational Sunday School headquarters they had to say, 'on temperance /
we have nothing.' ^"^
"When it came state convention time I had that little girl there in
a white dress and I told the folks about the mining town, the ten
saloons and about the worker and I said, 'Would you like to see her?'
They expected, of course, to see sorne great big, capable young woman.
I called her out and she came trotting to the platform just like a
little girl. When she faced a thousand people, she felt so little she
didn't know what to do and she ran up to me and tucked her head
down under my arm like a little girl of four years old. That con-
vention went wild. They were on their feet all over the house and
they said, 'We've got to have a temperance department.' And so the
temperance department was created in the state of Illinois; other states
fell into line and two years ago the International Sunday School As-
sociation, which plans the Sunday School work for the United States
and Canada, Mexico, Hawaii, Japan, and Alaska — and I don't know
where else — said, 'We will have an International Sunday School de-
53
Women Torc h - b barer s
partment and it stands for nothing less than total abstinence, the
destruction of the liquor habit and the extinction of the cigaret habit.'
They look to the white ribboners for help and now we have the quar-
terly Temperance Sunday ; four times a year in the Sunday Schools you
will find temperance exercises." It is so apparent, is it not, that God
called out the reserves!
William Jennings Bryan in one of his masterful total abstinence
addresses made this statement: "God never made alcohol necessary to
the human body, mind, or soul. The man who contracts the habit
cannot lay it on to a necessity given him by the Creator. God never
made a man strong enough to begin the use of intoxicating liquor with
certainty that he would not become its slave. Every man who has
fallen into a drunkard's grave has passed through a period of con-
fidence and boasted that he could drink it when he wanted to and
leave it alone when he wanted to; but he has overestimated his strength,
and fallen a victim to a habit. Moreover, there is not a day between
the cradle and the grave when it is safe for a man to commence the use
of alcohol."
Archibishop Ireland wielded a strong influence against social drink-
ing. He declared that "the great cause of social crime is drinking.
When I hear of a family broken up, I ask the cause — it is drink. If
I go to the gallows and ask its victim the cause, the answer is 'drink.'
Then I ask myself in perfect wonderment, 'Why do not men put a
stop to this thing?' "
In the latter part of the nineteenth century a young woman in high
society dared the criticism of wine drinking people. Her courageous act
is thus described by a long-time friend of the W. C, T. U., that silver
tongued orator, Col. George W. Bain: "For Christine Bradley, the
eighteen-year-old daughter of a Governor of Kentucky, to stand on the
dock at Newport News, against the customs of centuries and facing
the years of prejudice, baptize the battleship Kentucky with water, re-
quired as blood-born-bravery as coursed the veins of the Ensign who
cut the wires in Cardenas Bay, or the Captain who sank the 'Merrimac'
in the entrance of Santiago Harbor. Because she dared to violate a
long established custom by refusing to use what had blighted the hopes
of many daughters, sent to drunkards' graves so many sons, and buried
crafts and crews in watery graves, the Woman's Christian Temperance
Union presented her with a handsome silver service."
54
(Reading down)
sifan^a M° n"'^Fr. ^Tv!'" ^^ t^°""o^' Elizabeth P. Hutchinson
ausanna M D. Fry Kathenne Lent Stevenson Mary Clement Leavitt
Helen M. Barker Frances E. Beauchamp Mary T. Lathrop
The Fight for a Clear Brain
It was Colonel Bain who was chosen to make the presentation
speech, which he closed by saying — "Heaven bless Christine Bradley,
who by her example said —
"I christen thee Kentucky,
With water from the spring.
Which enriched the blood of Lincoln,
Whose praise the sailors sing,
I christen thee Kentucky,
With prayers of women true.
That wine, the curse of sailors,
May never curse your crew.
I christen thee Kentucky,
And may this christening be,
A lesson of safety ever.
To sailors on the sea."
One of the bravest and most beloved workers in the fight for a
clear brain throughout a long life, was Mrs. Mary T. Hill Willard,
"Saint Courageous," the mother of Frances Willard. When an octo-
genarian. Mother Willard sent out from her home, Rest Cottage, Ev-
anston, Illinois, to boys and girls everywhere her own prophetic ap-
pealing message. It reads: (in part)
"The world will be what you make it,
Little people;
It will be as you shape it,
Little people;
Then be studious and brave.
And your country help to save,
Little people.
When we walk into the gray,
Little people,
And you into the day,
Little people,
We will beckon you along
With a very tender song,
Little people."
55
Women Torc h- b barer s
After years of agitation, education and organization against the
alcohol habit, how gratifying it has been to see total abstinence public
sentiment rapidly awakening. At the national convention of 1915, the
Spirit of Sobriety garbed in the symbols of victory, suddenly appeared
and announced triumphantly: "You are the friends who have made
me articulate. In 1874 I was only a dream — a vision; today I am
a living reality. Once I was hated; now I am beloved. When I tell
you what total abstinence has accomplished, you will realize that I am
the impersonation of that ideal of yours. Listen to my story:
"Total Abstinence is no longer a ridiculed fanaticism ; it sits in regal
state on the throne of empires and of kingdoms, and in republics sways,
in ever increasing measure, the voting citizenship. It safeguards the
soldier, the sailor, the aviator, and the crew of the submarine. It
gives a clear brain to the railroad man, the athlete, the autoist, and the
commercial, industrial and agricultural worker. It says, 'The first
man to be taken off and the last man to be taken on is the man who
drinks.'
"Total Abstinence framed 'Rule G,' enforced by every railroad of
the country. 'Rule G' places a reliable man in charge of a transcon-
tinental express train, or a safety block-signal worth ten million dollars.
"Total Abstinence declares whisky and brandy to be neither drugs
nor medicine, but depressants. Law-breaking drug stores are taking
notice that it requires a saloon license to sell these alcoholic liquors.
"Total Abstinence has caused many physicians and State Medical
Societies to deal John Barleycorn solar plexus blows. He has led the
National Society of Neurologists and Alienists to condemn unqualifiedly
the use of alcoholic beverages, and to recommend that the various
state legislatures take steps to eliminate such use.
"Total Abstinence has convinced captains of industry and labor
organizations generally that the 'Water Wagon' is the only 'universal
safety device.'
"Total Abstinence declares that even moderate drinking is an un-
told risk. He teaches the young that rational self-control means ab-
solutely no drinking of alcoholics. He gives to society an example
safe and beneficent for each one to follow. Scientific and illuminating
truths reveal the terrible ills that alcohol brings to body and soul ; he
impresses these truths on the j'oung minds of millions of school chil-
dren in every state, territory and the District of Columbia. Total
56
The Fight for a Clear Brain
Abstinence is the popular subject of thousands of essays written by
boys and girls whose slogan is 'Where there's Drink there's Danger.'
"Total Abstinence controls the ruling of many life insurance so-
cieties, who affirm, 'We prefer total abstainers to those who imbibe
even moderately.' 'The mortality is heavier among drinkers than non-
drinkers.' 'We do not insure the lives of persons engaged in the sale
or manufacture of intoxicating liquors.'
"Total Abstinence organized the National Abstainers' Union, under
the Federated Council of Churches of Christ in America, which rep-
resents over seventeen and one half million communicant members.
He secured on the latest World's Temperance Sunday one million sig-
natures to the temperance pledge. At the W. C. T. U., Young People's
Branch and Loyal Temperance Legion meetings this year the number of
pledge signers has been increased.
"To warring nations Total Abstinence utters the warning cry — 'The
nation that keeps sober is the nation that will win.'
"Total Abstinence has increased in ten years the sale of milk
in New York City fifty per cent, and decreased the sale of beer. He
dominated the New York City Health Department and caused it to
declare an educational war on alcoholic drink. Commissioner Gold-
water, when inaugurating this campaign said: 'The Health Board will
fight the rich man's champagne as well as the poor man's beer.'
By means of posters, illustrated lectures and moving pictures, the
ravages of alcohol are being shown. The wise and fearless commis-
sioner announces that 'it is as necessary to battle drink as to fight an
epidemic'
"Total Abstinence caused the state of Kansas to make liquor drink-
ers or cigarette smokers ineligible to office. This ruling applied to
teachers and to the professional classes as well as to industrial workers
and day laborers. Kansas leads the nation in refusing to employ brains
muddled by alcohol.
"Total Abstinence holds a high place beside 'Truth,' as an ideal
advocate by the members of the Associated Advertising Clubs of the
world.
"Total Abstinence has received the unqualified endorsement of many
leading educators, who have reached the conclusion that alcohol is an
unmitigated evil, and who assert 'that a man who takes alcohol in even
57
Women Torc h - b barer s
a moderate degree is harming himself physically, mentally, morally and
economically.'
"Total Abstinence laid its compelling hand on the youth of our
country when the Associated College Newspaper Publishers in their
convention a few weeks ago at Columbia University voted to bar liquor
advertisements from their publications.
"Total Abstinence recently so controlled the state convention of
Georgia bankers that in the interest of efficiency they resolved
to exclude wine from their future banquets. Total Abstinence caused
the Georgia Weekly Press Association and the Georgia police chiefs to
take even stronger action; the Press Association renounced the use at
their meetings of intoxicants of any kind, including near beer, and the
police chiefs, realizing that 'the dignity of sobriety is becoming to an
officer sworn to enforce the prohibitory, law,' determined not to allow
intoxicating beverages to be served at any of their entertainments.
"Total Abstinence was championed by genial 'Bob' Burdette, who
said: 'No clause in the Declaration of Independence declares that a
Sunday concert garden with five brass horns and one hundred kegs of
beer is the inalienable right of a free people and the corner-stone of
good government.'
"Total Abstinence has reared a generation of voters inimical to the
traffic in alcoholic liquors. To the people of this Christian republic he
is saying, I, Total Abstinence, will give to you health, wealth, efficiency
and prosperity. To the oppressed millions who shall seek America's
hospitable shores I will be a life-giver and a powerful protector."
58
CHAPTER IV
The World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union
The present-day "New Internationalism" was preceded by an
epochal era of women's unselfish idealism and strategic action. History
will record the World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union as a
vital factor in securing this new inter-sphering of the nations. Frances
Willard was the first leader of a temperance or philanthropic organiza-
tion to send across the Pacific the spiritual cable of good-will and under-
standing. The story of the World's Woman's Christian Temperance
Union is a story of heroism. A family of nations promoting peace,
purity, prohibition, the enfranchisement of women and the establishment
of courts of arbitration to banish war from the world, has been the
beckoning goal.
Today, fifty nations are federated in the World's W. C. T. U., the
new parliament of women, the new "Federation of the World." This
international movement, organized in 1883, antedates the present in-
ternationalism by more than four decades. In unifying and forwarding
the reforms which are of equal importance to all nations, the World's
W. C. T. U. has secured unprecedented results. These victories presage
the fulfillment of Matthew Arnold's prophetic dictum: "If ever the
world sees a time when women shall come together purely and simply
for the benefit and good of mankind, it will be a power such as the
world has never known."
"For God and Home and Every Land" became the new watch-
word. "We are a world's republic of women — without distinction of
race or color — who recognize no sectarianism in religion, no sectionalism
in politics, no sex in citizenship," said Frances Willard. "Each of us
is as much a part of the world's union as is any other woman; it is
our great, growing, beautiful home. The white ribbon includes all re-
forms; whatever touches humanity, touches us."
The founding of the World's W. C. T. U. was the outcome of
Miss Willard's visit, in 1883, to the city of San Francisco, California.
It was Anna Gordon's high privilege to accompany her. With sorrow-
ful hearts the two visitors walked through the streets of Chinatown —
that one-time vice and opium section of San Francisco. In the presence
of occidental avarice and oriental degradation, there came to Miss
Willard a distinct illumination, resulting in this solemn decision: "But
59
r
Women Torc h- be arer s
} for the intervention of the sea, the shores of China and the Far East
L^ would be part and parcel of our fair land. We are one world of
\ tempted humanity; the mission of the white ribbon women is to or-
^ ganize the motherhood of the world for the peace and purity, the
\ protection and exaltation of its homes. We must sound forth a clear
y call to our sisters across the seas, and to our brothers none the less.
./ We must be no longer hedged about by the artificial boundaries of
I state and nation. We must utter, as women, what a great and good
finan long ago declared as his watchward, 'The whole world is my
parish, and to do good is my religion.' "
In 1884, the first clarion call for world prohibition, world purity,
and freedom from the opium trade was written by Frances Willard in
her study at historic Rest Cottage, Evanston, Illinois. This "Polyglot
Petition" was addressed to the "Honored rulers, Representatives and
Brothers," of all governments. It reads: "We, your petitioners, al-
though belonging to the physically weaker sex, are strong of heart to
love our homes, our native land, and the world's family of nations.
We know that clear brains and pure hearts make honest lives and
. happy homes, and that by these the nations prosper and the time is
brought nearer when the world shall be at peace. We know that in-
dulgence in alcohol and opium, and in other vices which disgrace our
social life, makes misery for all the world, and most of all for us and
for our children. We know that stimulants and opiates are sold under
legal guarantees which make the governments partners in the traffic
by accepting as revenue a portion of the profits, and we know with
shame that they are often forced by treaty upon populations either ignor-
ant or unwilling. We know that the law might do much now left un-
done to raise the moral tone of society and render vice difficult. We
have no power to prevent these great iniquities, beneath which the whole
world groans, but you have power to redeem the honor of the nations
from an indefensible complicity. We, therefore, come to j^ou with the
united voices of representative women of every land, beseeching you to
raise the standard of the law to that of Christian morals, to strip away
the safeguards and sanctions of the State from the drink traffic and the
opium trade, and to protect our homes by the total prohibition of these
curses of civilization throughout all the territory over which your
Government extends."
60
The Lady Henry Somerset Mrs. Margaret Bright Lucas
Rosalind, Countess of Carlisle
World's W. C. T. U. Petition to the governments of the world.
The World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union
At once, opportunities to sign this appeal were given to individuals
and organizations. The petition was translated into the languages of
many nations. Almost every tongue used by the peoples of the world
is represented in the signatures and endorsements. Frances Willard
said, "In this far-reaching document there are columns of Chinese
women's signatures that look like houses that Jack built. There is a
list of Burmese signatures that looks like bunches of tangled worms.
The thousands upon thousands from the spicy Isle of Ceylon are enough
to make a shorthand man shudder; the incomprehensible but liquid
vowels of the Hawaiian Kanaka jostle the proud names of English
ladies of high degree; the Spanish of haughty senoras of Madrid make
the same plea as the "her mark" of the converted woman of
the Congo. There are Spanish names from Mexico and the South
American republics, French from Martinique, Dutch from Natal and
English from New Zealand, besides the great home petitions from the
greater nations. The total, counting men's and women's signatures,
endorsements, and attestations, aggregates seven and one half million."
Thi&.jproclamation was first presented to a convention for signatures
by Mrs". Mary Bannister Willard at the International Temperance
Congress in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1885. The signatures in fifty
languages were mounted on white muslin and during the first conven-
tion of the World's W. C. T. U., held in Boston, in 1891, the folds
of the petition draped the walls of historic Faneuil Hall and Tremont
Temple.
In 1895, Frances Willard and a committee representing the World's
and National W. C. T. U., were received at the Executive Mansion
by President Grover Cleveland, and formally presented to the United
States government this history making petition.
During the same year, the great rolls were taken to London, and
were the central feature of the World's W. C. T. U. convention. In
Royal Albert Hall, where a monster demonstration meeting was held,
the petition's countless folds encircled galleries and platform, resembling
a huge white ribbon into which had been woven the symbolic badges
of the great host of women who in every land are publishing the tidings
of purity and total abstinence. A few weeks later. Miss Willard pre-
sented the petition to the government of Great Britain. Her Majesty,
Queen Victoria, graciously received, two richly bound illuminated
volumes containing the text of the petition and the photographed signa-
61
Women Torc h - b barer s
tures of thousands of Her Majesty's subjects in Great Britain. The
presentation of these elegant volumes was made possible through the
generous kindness of Lady Henry Somerset.
In .1897, the petition adorned Massey Music Hall, Toronto, Canada,
on the occasion of the fourth convention of the World's Woman's
Christian Temperance Union. Miss Willard did not live to fulfill her
earnest desire to present the petition to the Canadian government, and
Mrs. Lillian M. N. Stevens, ably represented her at a great meeting
held in Ottawa, presided over by Sir Wilfred Laurier. At the Panama-
Pacific International Exposition, held in San Francisco in 1915, the
famous petition was a part of a National W. C. T. U. Exhibit. The
petition was taken to Columbus, Ohio, and was a notable feature of the
World's and National W. C. T. U. exhibit at the Methodist Centenary
celebration. The Polj^glot Petition, great in its message, has become a
priceless, revered and world-famed document.
In 1884, Mary Clement Leavitt, a true hearted, gifted Boston
teacher, became the first world-wide W. C. T. U. organizer. Througn
her untiring toil, the World's W. C. T. U. in foreign lands became
a fact. Mrs. Leavitt adventured, at her own expense, and took the
world for her inheritance. In eight years of constant journeying —
this devoted woman expended but eight thousand dollars, of which all
but one thousand, six hundred dollars was contributed by those for
whom she labored. Local unions raised three thousand dollars, but
Mrs. Leavitt drew on the treasury for only half that sum. She
traveled 100,000 miles in forty-three different countries; crossed the
equator eight times; held over 1600 meetings; had the services of 229 dif-
ferent interpreters in 47 languages and formed 130 temperance soci-
ties, 86 of them W. C. T. U.'s and 23 branches of the White Cross.
For seven years she never saw a face with which she was familiar, and
she went everywhere alone. She said "Always I found some touch of
nature and of kinship, and was treated by all classes of men as kindly
as if I had been their mother." Was not hers a glorious embassy? ,/
When Mrs. Leavitt fared forth to Hawaii, to the Orient and then
around the world, she carried with her an attested copy of the Poly-
glot Petition, often termed the Magna Charta of the home.
The self-sacrificing group of organizers that through four decades
have represented the World's W. C. T. U. are gratefully remembered.
The organizers now (1924) in service abroad are Miss Flora E. Strout,
62
The World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union
who has just completed a five year term in Burma, Malaya and Ceylon ;
Miss Hardynia K. Norville, South America; Miss Marj' Campbell,
India ; Miss Christine Tinling, China ; Mrs. Ren Yen Mei, China ; Miss
Olifia Johannsdottir, Iceland. Mrs. Mrs. Ren Yen Mei of China' re-
tires from world service this year; Miss Tinling returns to England.
The death of Miss Johannsdottir, just announced, is a sad loss to the
world.
Altruistic women who have been World's W. C. T. U. presidents,
held high the torch. The story of their lives would fill all the pages
of this book. Margaret Bright Lucas, England, sister of Hon. John
Bright, served from 1884-1890; Frances E. Willard, U. S. A., 1891-
1898; Lady Henry Somerset, England, 1900-1906; Rosalind, Countess
of Carlisle, England, 1906-1921 ; Anna A. Gordon, U. S. A., was
elected president at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1922. The other
general officers now in active service are: Vice president. Miss Dagmar
Prior, Denmark; honorary secretaries, Miss Agnes E. Slack, England,
and Mrs. Blanche Read Johnston, Canada; honorary treasurer, Mrs.
Ella A. Boole, U. S. A.
Women missionaries of various church denominations in many
countries, have been able national and local W. C. T. U. officers, loyally
co-operating with the program of the World's W. C. T. U. Without
their invaluable aid the W. C. T. U. organizers would have failed to
accomplish their constructive work. Today, church missionaries are
the back-bone of "Foreign W. C. T. U. auxiliaries" that "stand by"
as they push to the front the native W. C. T. U. organizations. To
this date eleven conventions have been held: In 1891, in Boston;
1893, Chicago; 1895, London, England; 1897, Toronto, Canada;
1900, Edinburgh, Scotland; 1903, Geneva, Switzerland; 1906, Boston;
1910, Glasgow, Scotland; 1913, Brooklyn, New York; 1920, London,
England; 1922, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The first convention held in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1891, as-
sembled in historic Faneuil Hall. This "cradle of liberty" in which a
woman's meeting never before had been held, was "rocked by womanly
women" so said Frances Willard, who was most happy in initiating so
appropriate a proceeding. Lady Henry Somerset, President of the
British Women's Temperance Association, was the guest of honor.
Welcomed and presented to the convention by Frances Willard, Lady
Henry charmed her hearers. Glancing about the hall, at the statues
63
Women Torc h - b barer s
and paintings of revolutionary heroes, she noted last of all, the grace-
fully entwined flags of Great Britain and the United States. "Some-
one asked me," she said, "if I did not consider it an insult to be asked
to speak in a hall filled with mementos of America's war against Great
Britain. 'No,' I answered, *I am glad to be here and join with you
in a peaceful war against a greater enemy than ever you had in King
George III; and that enemy is King Alcohol — one that imperils every
home. Let us together work for his downfall and for the enthronement
throughout the world of peace, purity and prohibition.' "
During Lady Henry's memorable visit to this country, she expressed
great pleasure in meeting many notable Americans. One of the most
delightful social events was the informal reception given to her,
Frances Willard and Anna Gordon, at the home of the New England
poet, John G. Whittier. Appreciating the democracy of soul of his
aristocratic English guest, Mr, Whittier remarked to Lady Henry,
"You, my friend from old England, are the daughter of one hundred
Earls. Frances Willard is the daughter of the best blood of Nev*^
England, and of the prairies, and I am only a singer for liberty; yet
we are of one mind and soul in our ideals for the betterment of
humanity." Frances Willard naively reminded her Quaker friend
of the encouragement he gave her when years before he had written
to her, "Thee is becoming quite a conspicuous figure out on thy prairies,"
At the request of Lady Henry, Mr. Whittier wrote, iq the presence of
his guests, these lines to be placed on Anne Whitney's bust of Frances
Willard :
\^"She knew the power of banded ill.
But felt that love was stronger still;
And organized for doing good,
The world's united womanhood."
Honorable John D, Long, former Secretary of the Navy and gov-
ernor of Massachusetts, acted as toastmaster at a banquet in connection
with the World's W. C, T. U, convention held in Boston, Massachu-
setts, in 1906, He paid the organization the following gracious tribute,
"The Woman's Christian Temperance Union is not a fad but one of
the agencies of that universal reform in society and politics which was
never under more vigorous impulse than it is today. The members
represent the best and deepest convictions, not of a mere sect or special
organization, but of all good men and women the world over, and to
64
The World^s Woman^s Christian Temperance Union
that extent certainly they deserve the cordial co-operation of all who
love their fellowmen."
In 1913, in the absence of the president, the Countess of Carlisle,
Mrs. Lillian M. N. Stevens, Vice-President of the World's W. C.
T. U,. presided over the ninth World's convention held in Brooklyn,
New York. Mrs. Stevens, though earnestly requested by the president
to be a candidate for the highest office, refused this honor, and at her
solicitation the Countess, when cabled of her unanimous election con-
sented to remain as president. The convention hostess, Mrs. Ella A.
Boole, president of the W. C. T. U. of New York state, was the coad-
jutor of Mrs. Stevens and Miss Gordon in promoting this convention,
which proved to be the last before the great world war, and one of far-
reaching influence. The severe strain of the tragic years that passed be-
fore delegates from thirty countries assembled in London in 1920, did
not cause the women of the World's W. C. T. U. to break their
ranks. The bond of fellowship, symbolized by the white ribbon, held.
At the international assembly, of 1920, in London, England, the first
to meet after the signing of the world war armistice, the white ribboners
of Germany sent a letter of greeting. The delegates were warmly re-
ceived by civic and church leaders and a special service was held for
them in Westminster Abbey. The proclamation sent out by Anna
Gordon, November 11, 1918, the day the armistice was signed, gave to
this convention the principles and plans needed for future work. It
reads: "World democracy, world peace, world purity and world
patriotism, demand world prohibition. Representing the National
Woman's Christian Temperance Union of the United States, a republic
about to write prohibition in its constitutional law, we hereby call
upon the peoples of all faiths and of all organizations in the world's
family of nations, to clasp hands with the World's W. C. T. U. and
to help bring to full fruition its hope and its heroic service of thirty-
five years on behalf of a sober world. Science declares against alcohol.
Health conservation and business prosperity demand total abstinence
and prohibition. Together let us agitate, educate, organize and legis-
late, until the exalted vision of the founder of the World's W. C. T. U.,
Frances E. Willard, is realized; until the Gospel of the Golden Rule
of Christ is worked out in the customs of society and in the laws of
every land. At the close of the devastating world war, in the white
heat of the limitless, unparalleled opportunities of a new international-
65
Women Torc h- be arer s
ism, depending upon the help of Grod and of all who love humanity
we hereby proclaim the triumph of world prohibition." (Rest Cottage,
Evanston, Illinois, U. S. A.)
It was the writer's privilege, in 1886, to attend as her first National
W. C. T. U. convention, the annual gathering held in Minneapolis,
Minnesota. Here she saw the gracious welcome extended to Mrs.
Margaret Bright Lucas of England, the sister of John Bright, the
great English Commoner. Frances Willard asked the delegates from
all sections of the country to rise in groups — the east, the west, the
north, the south — and give Mrs. Lucas a welcome salute. The great
structure was cold, but the honored guest, when asked if she were
not suffering from the chilly conditions, exclaimed: "No, indeed!
Such a sight as this is enough to warm anybody's blood. I wish our
English women would come to our help in such large numbers and
be as enthusiastic as are these women before me!" Although over
seventy years of age, Mrs. Lucas was traveling constantly, and or-
ganizing. The British Women's Temperance Association, founded in
1876 at Newcastle-on-Tyne, was the outcome of an inspiration caught
by Mrs. Margaret Parker from "Mother" Stewart and other Ameri-
can Crusaders.
Rosalind, Countess of Carlisle, deeply regretted that it was im-
possible for her to attend any American World's W. C. T. U. conven-
tions. However, she was personally and officially represented by mem-
bers of her family — her husband, Lord Carlisle, and her gracious daugh-
ters. Lady Dorothy Henley and Lady Aurea Howard. Her eldest
daughter is Lady Cecilia Roberts, whose husband for years was the
champion of temperance legislation in the House of Commons. Another
daughter, Lady Mary Murray, is the wife of Professor Gilbert Murray
of Oxford University a well-known author and dramatist, who has
written and spoken most forcefully for the temperance cause. The
Countess of Carlisle was president of the British Women's Temperance
Association, as well as president of the World's W. C. T. U. to which
position she was elected at the convention held in Boston, Massachu-
setts, in 1906. She was a great pioneer, a woman of large vision,
great in her giving, great in her spiritual insight and outlook, great
in her motherhood, and great in her passing from this life to the next.
Years ago, when to be a total abstainer was to be considered a fanatic,
Lord and Lady Carlisle banished from their hospitable board all alco-
66
The World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union
holic beverages, and the many distinguished men and women, some of
England and America's most illustrious writers and artists, statesmen
and men of affairs, who were royally entertained at Castle Howard,
had their first object lesson of generous hospitality sans alcohol. The
importance of the influence thus exerted may be measured by the high
social standing of this couple in the hereditary nobility of Great Britain,
and by their prominence among those who are constantly endeavoring
to make the M^orld a better place in which to live. As soon as the
Earl of Carlisle succeeded to the title, the first move of these true
patriots was to open their wine-cellars and destroy all of the famous
vintages, some of the finest in the kingdom. A storm of indignation
arose, but Lord and Lady Carlisle went on their ways unheeding, and
made their severance with the liquor traffic complete by closing all the
public houses and retail liquor stores on the great estates belonging to
the family. The Countess was a platform speaker of great ability.
Gladstone once said of her that she was one of the most valuable as-
sets of the liberal party, and Professor Bunting, an editor of the Con-
temporary Review, characterized her as "the only woman in the world
I should describe as a statesman."
During a memorable visit Lady Astor paid to this country, many
white ribboners participated in the magnificent welcome accorded her.
In one of her eloquent speeches. Lady Astor said: "This is a man and
woman governed world. Together they make civilization based on
Christianity a force — a civilization based on justice and mercy. I feel
that men have a greater sense of justice and women of mercy. They
must borrow our mercy, and we must use their justice. All legisla-
tion is better for a woman's point of view. Voting is not enough;
woman must think for herself and speak 'out loud in meeting' so that
the minds and imaginations of men will be stimulated by her fresher
vision. American prohibition has been a big contribution to the spirit-
ual regeneration of the world. It has shown itself not only a problem
Wai social welfare but of clean politics as well. Let the men see that
we desire a better, safer and cleaner world for our children and their
children. By doing our bit, by facing unclean things with cleanliness,
by facing wrong with right, by going fearlessly into all things that may
be disagreeable, we will somehow make a better world."
In October, 1923, the big, beautiful American flag that on special
occasions always flies from the elms in front of Rest Cottage, Evans-
67
Women Torc h- b barer s
ton, Illinois, waved a welcome to honored English guests — Dame Mar-
garet Llo3'd George and her daughter, Miss Megan. Mrs. Lloyd
George, who is a Dame of the British Empire, by a decoration con-
ferred by King George V, an honor accorded to but few women, has
for many years been conspicuously identified with the British Women's
Temperance Association. She is an officer of the white ribbon organiza-
tion in Wales and has devoted much of her time to speaking in its in-
terests there and in England. When inspecting the beautifully en-
graved and illuminated book of testimonials presented to Frances Wil-
lard by her English friends and admirers while in Britain, in 1893,
Dame Margaret's face lighted up as she remarked, "And I saw and
heard Frances Willard that year in England." On her return to
Great Britain, Dame Margaret made no attempt to conceal her favor-
able impression in regard to prohibition in the United States, which
she considers a permanent policy of the republic.
Dame Margaret has a reputation all her own as a public speaker
and a leader in moral reforms. When a slight illness made it impos-
sible for her husband, the ex-Premier, to meet his engagement to speak
to a great audience of Welsh people at Orchestra Hall, the first day
of their stay in Chicago, Dame Margaret, on very short notice, stepped
into the breach as his substitute and delivered an eloquent message
from the women of Wales, taking as her theme "World Peace." She
pleaded for a federation of all the English speaking women of the
world in the interests of international peace. "I am perfectly sure I
voice the feeling of every woman in America, as well as of every woman
in England, when I say we are sick of war. If the women of America,
Wales and England would combine, I think the combination would be
so powerful that no one would dare to speak of warring on any other
nation."
The visits of these notable English leaders have helped to bind
closely together the women of the two great English-speaking nations.
Indeed, the entire membership of the World's W. C. T. U. forms a
World's League of Friendship which cannot fail to promote interna-
tional justice, purity, peace and prohibition. As America is the country
in which the W. C. T. U. was first organized, it naturally followed
that in the building of the World's Woman's Christian Temperance
Union, the National W. C. T. U. of the United States should furnish
the majority of organizers and workers. Beginning in 1897, Mrs.
68
The World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union
Helen M. Stoddard gave in Mexico three years of devoted service in
pioneer, organizing and educational work. She w^as follovi^ed in 1900 by
Mrs. Addie Northam Fields, vv^ho for several years systematically and
successfully gave scientific temperance instruction in the public schools.
She received the co-operation of the liberal educators. Other gifted
leaders, who for brief periods have aided W. C. T, U. work in Mexico
are Mrs. Ella Hoover Thacher, Mrs. Nelle Burger and Mrs. H.
H. Faxon.
The Union Signal has recorded the achievements of the world-
wide trips of organizers and resident missionaries: Dr. Kate C. Bush-
nell, Mrs. Elizabeth Wheeler Andrew and Miss Jessie Ackerman ; also
the admirable service in Japan of Mary Allen West, Clara Parrish
Wright, Kara Smart Root, Ruth Frances Davis and Flora E. Strout,
and the white ribbon seed sowing in South Africa of Rev. Alice Palmer.
Cuba received a valuable W. C. T. U. uplift during the organizing
visits of Mrs. Florence E. Atkins and Mrs. Elizabeth A. Perkins.
In 1907-1908, commissioned by the World's W. C. T. U., Kath-
arine Lent Stevenson, a gifted national leader and president of the Mas-
sachusetts W. C. T. U., made a successful W. C. T. U. world survey.
Mrs, Stevenson possessed insight as well as imagination, and she ob-
served that "western civilization was imposing its vices upon the native
races." She emphasized the need of "removing obstacles from the path
of progress as a vital part of progress itself. We must cast up a high-
way so that the king's chariot can roll on to triumphant victory." Mrs.
Stevenson's white ribbon songs have been translated into many lang-
uages, and she helped make true the refrain of her most triumphant
composition, "We'll take the world for Christ's own kingdom, some
glad day."
In the prohibition campaign in Newfoundland, in 1915, Mrs. Emma
H. Howland of Massachusetts, who was the successful representative
of the World's W. C. T. U. heartily enjoyed joining with the devoted
women of the Newfoundland W. C. T. U. in this victory song, "The
rum curse has been doomed at last, Newfoundland, my Newfoundland,
And Satan's host are falling fast, Newfoundland, my Newfoundland.
Our sons and daughters are the best. In all that's true they stand the
test. We'll sing thy praises east .and west, Newfoundland, my New-
foundland."
69
Women Torc h - b barer s
Mrs. Deborah Knox Livingston, in her tour of South Africa, in
1922, received ovations from officials, educators and temperance work-
ers. Everyvi^here the response to Mrs. Livingston's marvelous message
was most enthusiastic. As one journalist said, "Mrs. Livingston told
the truth and pricked the bubble of the evils from prohibition very effec-
tively."
In response to urgent appeals from New Zealand to aid its pro-
hibition campaigns Mrs. Eva C. Wheeler, in 1920 and Mrs. Mary
Harris Armor, in 1922, took the long journey to the stalwart dominion
in the southern seas.
A mighty upward impulse was given. "New Zealand's Going Dry,"
the stirring slogan Mrs. Armor set them singing, shouting, praying
everywhere will yet be triumphant. The United States tour of Mrs.
Rachel Don, president, and Miss Christine Henderson, corresponding
secretary of New Zealand W. C. T. U., to see for themselves the bene-
fits of the prohibition law will greatly aid future campaigns. Three
times the electorate of New Zealand, by majority vote, has declared for
the dry regime, and in 1925 it is confidently believed the serious handi-
cap of New Zealand's peculiar election laws will be overcome. If the
majority vote alone could have determined a dry victory in the first, as
well as in the latest campaign, New Zealand, as well as Iceland, would
have antedated the United States of America in adopting the national
prohibition policy.
In many different ways, American women have rendered service
for other lands, some for a short time ; others for many years. The lack
of space forbids any comment on this heroic work, but this alphabet-
ical list of names covering fifty years is most interesting :
Miss Jessie Ackerman, Mrs. Elizabeth Wheeler Andrew, Mrs.
Mary Harris Armor, Mrs. Florence E. Atkins, Miss Muriel Ayres,
Miss Julia Ames, Mrs. Ida A. T. Arms, Mrs. Harriet L. Ayres, Mrs.
Layyah Barakat, Mrs. Frances J. Barnes, Mrs. J. K. Barney, Mrs.
J. W. Bashford, Mrs. Ella A. Boole, Miss Adda Burch, Mrs. Suessa
Blaine, Mrs. Nelle G. Burger, Dr. Kate C. Bushnell, Miss Alice E.
Briggs, Mrs. Paul Barnhart, Mrs. Ella M. Barnes, Mrs. John W.
Butler, Miss Mary J. Campbell, Dr. Mary M. Cutler, Mrs. Wilbur
F. Crafts, Mrs. L. D. Carhart, Mrs. David Carter, Mrs. Anthony W.
Chez, Mrs. Benjamin Chappell, Mrs. Mary F. W. Anderson Craw-
ford, Miss Anna M. Cummings, Mrs. E. L. Calkins, Miss Grace A.
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The World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union
Crooks, Mrs. Cornelia K. Carter, Miss L. C. Coombs, Mrs. S. W.
Ciemes, Miss Elizabeth C. Clarke, Mrs. Edith Smith Davis, Miss
Julia PVeeman Deane, Mrs. Mary Owen Denyes, Mrs. Fanny Root
Danser, Mrs. Margaret B. Denning, Miss Effa Dunmore, Miss Joan
Davis, Mrs. C. L. Davenport, Mrs. Margaret Dye Ellis, Mrs. Charlton
Edholm, Mrs. Ruth Schaffner Etnier, Mrs. Addie Northam Fields,
Mrs. H. H. Faxon, Mrs. Dwight Furness, Mrs. M. J. Farnham, Miss
Ellen Groenendyke, Miss Jennie M. Glassey, Mrs. A. W. Greenman,
Mrs. Chauncey Goodrich, Miss Elma Grace Gowen, Miss Anna A.
Gordon, Mrs. Alice Gordon Gulick, Miss Elizabeth P. Gordon, Mrs.
Mary H. Hunt, Mrs. Jeannette G. Hauser, Mrs. Franklin E. Hoskins,
Mrs. E. R. Hildreth, Mrs. Abbie B. Hillerman, Mrs. Clara C. Hoff-
man, Miss Helen L. Hood, Mrs. E. P. Herrick, Mrs. Emma H. How-
land, Miss Jennie V. Hughes, Miss Lizzie Hewett, Mrs. John How-
land, Dr. Rozetta S. Hall, Miss Isabella M. Hargrave, Mrs. May
Pyne Berry Hawthorne, Mrs. Mary C. Johnson, Mrs. Lydia B. John-
son, Mrs. Octave Jacqmain, Mrs. Azuba Jones, Mrs. H. H. Jessup,
Mrs. B. M. Jones, Miss Belle Kearney, Miss Elsie J. Keyser, Mrs.
Mary Clement Leavitt, Mrs. E. Spencer Large, Mrs. Deborah Knox
Livingston, Miss Rosa E. Lee, Mrs. Lora LaMance, Miss Margaret
Leitch, Miss Mary Leitch, Mrs. W. E. Locke, Mrs. Mary M.
Love, Mrs. Caroline E. McDowell, Mrs. George B. MacFarland,
Mrs. G. D. Marsh, Mrs. Cornelia Moots, Mrs. Florence Perrine Man-
sell, Miss Hardynia K. Norville, Mrs. Josephine R. Nichols, Mrs.
Thomas Nicholson, Mrs. Norton, Mrs. William Oldham, Rev. Alice
R. Palmer, Miss H. Frances Parmalee, Mrs. Matilda Patterson, Mrs.
Elizabeth A. Perkins, Mrs. Maude B. Perkins, Mrs. Mary R. Phillips,
Mrs. F. B. Price, Miss Virginia L. Pride, Miss Christine Penrod, Miss
Mary N. Pearson, Mrs. F. D. Phinney, Mrs. Alice Lewis Pearson,
Miss Annie Robbins, Mrs. Alys Smith Russell, Miss Helen G. Rum-
sey, Miss Mary Robinson, Mrs. Bertha B. Roach, Mrs. Helen E.
Rasmussen, Miss Lelia Roberts, Miss Helen L Root, Mrs. Kara Smart
Root, Mrs. Lillian M. N. Stevens, Mrs. Ruth Davis Stevens, Miss
Flora E. Strout, Mrs. Hannah Whitall Smith, "Mother" Stewart,
Miss Mary Campbell Smith, Mrs. Katharine Lent Stevenson, Mrs.
Clara A. Shrigley, Mrs. E. R. Smart, Miss Ellen M. Stone, Mrs. Har-
riet P. Stone, Miss Cora F. Stoddard, Mrs. Mary C. Stuckenberg, Miss
M. A. Spencer, Miss Amy Spalding, Miss Mary F. Swaney, Mrs.
71
Women Torc h - b e are r s
Levi Salmans, Mrs. Kate Lunden Sunderlin, Mrs. Helen M. Stoddard,
Miss Christine I. Tinling, Mrs. Ella Hoover Thacher, Dr. Mary Fovir-
ler Thompson, Miss Anna Y. Thompson, Mrs. Merritt M. Thompson,
Mrs. Henry Topping, Mrs. Wilbur P. Thirkield, Miss Clara Belden
Tingley, Miss Bertha K. Tallon, Mrs. Anthony Te Paske, Mrs, Her-
bert Taylor, Rev. Mecca Varney, Mrs. Charles P. Vickery, Miss
Frances E. Willard,^Miss Mary Allen West, Miss Emily C. Wheeler,
Miss Laura M. White, Mrs. Mary A. Woodbridge, Mrs. Mary S.
Whitney, Mrs. Mary B. Willard, Mrs. Jennie Fowler Willing, Mrs.
Clara Parrish Wright, Miss Nettie Wilbur, Miss M. H. Watts, Miss
Anna T. Webb, Miss Winifred S. Woods, Miss Sadie L. WeTdner,
Mrs. Lenna Lowe Yost.
During fifty years of our organization, there has been scarcely a
National W. C. T. U. superintendent who has not helped in some
measure abroad, and many missionaries of the various churches have
been our strongest allies. The names, however, that follow include
only the Americaa W. C. T. U. women who have been or are World's
W. C. T. U. superintendents or editors, or who have, in brief visits or
through generous gifts, aided our international work:
Mrs. Martha M. Allen, Dr. Mary Wood-Allen, Mrs. Hannah J.
Bailey, Mrs. Caroline B. Buell, Mrs. Summerfield Baldvn'n, Mrs.
Helen L. Bullock, Dr. L. Pearl Boggs, Mrs. E. B. Bradley, Mrs. J. V.
Brewer, Mrs. Wilbur F. Crafts, Mrs. Clara C. Chapin, Mrs. Adelia
E. Carman, Mrs. M. B. Carse, Mrs. Joseph Cook, Mrs. Maude Car-
man Cathcart, Miss Julia Colman, Mrs. W. Jennings Demorest, Mrs.
F. S. Evans, Miss Mary B. Ervin, Miss Eva Kilbreth Foster, Miss
Elizabeth W. Greenwood, Mrs. Frances W. Graham, Mrs. Caroline
F. Grow, Mrs. Evalyn Graham, Mrs. Anna P. George, Dr. Cordelia
A. Greene, Dr. Mary T. Greene, Miss Lillian Herr, Mrs, Cornelia T.
Hatcher, Mrs. Stella B. Irvine, Miss Ella G. Ives, Miss Lucia E. F.
Kimball, Mrs. Gertrude Stevens Leavitt, Mrs. S. D. LaFetra, Mrs.
Mary F. Lincoln, Mrs. Mary F. Lovell, Mrs. Mary T. Lathrap, Mrs.
Sarah McClees, Mrs. Margaret C. Munns, Mrs. Emilie D. Martin,
Mrs. Elizabeth O. Middleton, Mrs. S. L. Oberholtzer, Mrs. Frances
P. Parks, Dr. Louise C. Purington, Mrs. Harriet S. Pritchar, Mrs.
Esther T. Pritchard, Mrs. George Frederic Rooke, Miss Rebecca N.
Rhoads, Miss Margaret A. Sudduth, Miss Jane A. Stewart, Mrs.
Dorcas Spencer, Mrs. Ross Hayes Schachner, Miss Leila M. Sewall,
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The World^s Woman's Christian Temperance Union
Mrs. Mary D. Tomllnson, Mrs. Sarah Phillips Thomas, Mrs. Eva
C. Wheeler, Mrs. Mary Sparks Wheeler, Mrs. Jennie Fowler Willing
Miss Margaret Whitechurch.
How the Jubilee dollars helped the World's W. C. T. U. is told
by the National W. C. T. U. treasurer, Mrs. Margaret C. Munns,
as follows: "As the oldest member of the family of the World's
W. C. T. U., the National W. C. T. U. of the United States would
indeed be selfish if it did not give assistance to the countries struggling
for freedom from the curse of alcohol. South America naturally ap-
peals to its twin continent. The plea to help build headquarters in
Argentina and Uruguay resulted in contributions of $26,000 and $15,-
000 respectively. Owing to favorable exchange conditions these gifts
brought a substantial increase in amount. Native workers have been
employed and altogether there has been spent in South America, to
the end of the fiscal year, 1924, $59,980. Miss Muriel Ayres, who
was sent by the National W. C. T. U., was compelled to return after
about two years on account of ill health.
"China has had the advantage of three years' teaching of scien-
tific temperance in her schools by Miss Christine Tinling. As China
is depending in a peculiar way upon her young people for leadership,
the influence of Miss Tinling's work cannot be overestimated. The
same is true of Mrs. Frances Willard Wang Liu, a young Chinese
woman of exceptional ability, educated in Northwestern University,
Evanston, Illinois, who is organizing W. C. T. U.'s among the young
women of China. Into the work in China, including maintenance of
headquarters and translation of literature, has gone $24,800.00 up to
the end of the 1924 fiscal year. Scholarships have been given in the
Woman's Christian College to Miss Sumi Kananori of Japan, a grand-
daughter of Madame Kaji Yajima; to Salometh Vincent of India who
studied at the Isabella Thoburn College ; and to Miss Persis F. Stephens
of India, At the Danforth Memorial Hospital in Kiukiang, China, a
student is receiving the benefit of the Anna Gordon Scholarship estab-
lished by the organized young people of the National W. C .T. U.
This young woman is being trained as a nurse,
"Besides these countries, financial help has been given to Ceylon,
Burma, France, Italy, Belgium, Malaysia, Sweden, Finland, Mexico,
Cuba, Germany, Austria and Denmark. The National W. C. T. U.
participated in the campaigns of South Africa and New Zealand
73
Women Torc h - b barer s
through the lecturing trips of Mrs. Deborah Knox Livingston and Mrs.
Mary Harris Armor to those countries. The Cuba W. C. T. U. was
reorganized by Mrs. Florence Atkins ol Georgia. Consuelo Valdez, a
bright young girl from the Philippines, was in this country a year pre-
paring for leadership in her own land. Recently, she secured many
new white ribbon members as she organized in the large cities in her
country. She attended a girls' conference in a beautiful
mountain city, speaking twice in the platform meeting, and
giving a short study course on alcohol. Her class of one hundred
members were very enthusiastic about the work presented.
"The World's W. C. T. U. has been given $18,000 for the aid of
its great program. The world trips of Miss Gordon and Miss Deane
to Europe and South America, which resulted in a great increase of in-
terest in every country visited, and the trip made by Miss Gordon to
Mexico, which resulted in the revival of the W. C. T. U. in Mexico,
were made possible by the Jubilee Fund. Altogether there has been
spent for World Prohibition up to the close of the 1924 fiscal year,
$135,282.
"It is easily seen that the National W. C. T. U. has added an in-
calculable sum to the legitimate endeavors of the organization and
multiplied its influence in geometric progression."
Twenty-one republics of the Western Hemisphere, twenty of them
south of the United States, are brought into friendly touch through
activities centered in the Pan-American Building in Washington, D. C.
Alcohol is the curse of all twenty nations that constitute Latin America,
In Brazil all of the United States, excluding Alaska, could be placed
and have a margin of two hundred thousand square miles. Pan-Amerf-
canism, a Christian and a temperance international fellowship was
strongly emphasized at the great Panama conference on Christian work
where Miss Hardynia K. Norville, our white ribbon herald in South
America, was our delegate.
The assembling in Washington in September, 192j3, of the Fifteenth
International Congress Against Alcoholism was the outstandmg event
of that year. It was the first Congress held outside of Europe. The
leaders of our organization, national and international, were given a
notable part on the program. The W. C. T. U. legislative represen-
tative at Washington, Mrs. Lenna Lowe Yost, was one of the hostesses
and a member of an important committee. Mrs. FVances P. Parks,
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The World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union
national corresponding secretary, made the W. C. T. U. exhibit a grand
educational success. The memorable pageant by Mrs. Suessa Blaine
was of marked educational value.
Anna Gordon as superintendent of the Juvenile Division of the
World's W. C. T. U., early rallied in many countries, enthusiastic and
successful leaders. Children's choruses and demonstrations were lively
features of white ribbon assemblies. She secured three hundred and
fifty thousand names of children to the total abstinence pledge. The
exhibit was an enjoyable feature of the W. C. T. U. booth at the Col-
umbian Exposition in Chicago, in 1893. The names represented chil-
dren from many countries who had contributed three thousand dollars
for the erection of a fountain which later was presented to the city of
Chicago, and now stands in Lincoln Park. It is one of the most in-
spiring works of art that any reform m.ovement has produced. In
popular language it is called "The Little Cold Wjtter Girl" and repre-
sents the modern movement through which childrefn have become a rec-
ognized factor as workers for the good of the world, being no longer
content to be ministered unto with a cup of cold water, but ready
gladly to offer it to others. The fountain is adapted to the use of man
and to his four-footed neighbors. It was executed by Mr. George
Wade, a noted London sculptor. The same figure in bronze has been
unveiled through W. C. T. U. contributions in London, and a third
replica is a memorial to Mrs. Lillian M. N. Stevens in Portland, Maine.
The Chicago fountain is named for Miss Willard, the one in London
for Lady Henry Somerset.
Most of the children who contributed the money for the Willard
Fountain earned their gifts, and no child was allowed to contribute
more than a dime. The child's cup bears a facsimile of the badge of
the Loyal Temperance Legion and a suitable inscription marks the
fountain as childhood's gift. The countries of United States, England,
Canada, Norway, Australia, Spain, Japan, Africa, India, France, China
and Ireland, are represented in the pledge cards and gifts, and from
unknown sources more than eight thousand cards were received, A
trip to a large city in Wales occurred during a visit to England of
Frances Willard and Anna Gordon. One of the delightful incidents
of that occasion never will be forgotten. Lady Henry Somerset had
arranged a great meeting of men and women to welcome the visitors and
many representatives of temperance organizations came to the platform
75
Women Torc h- b barer s
to bring greetings. Last of all there came toddling down the aisle a
little boy dressed in white carrying with difficulty, a huge bouquet of
beautiful white flowers. Lady Henry, in motherly fashion, stooped
down and helped the child walk up the lofty platform steps. Standing
him on the high desk in front of the audience, Lady Henry exclaimed,
amid the cheers and tears of happy fathers and mothers, "This is the
reason we are organized. We believe in formation rather than reforma-
tion."
At this time, Anna Gordon was happy to organize among the girls
in a Home in Reigate, England, founded in honor of her father, by
Lady Henry Somerset, a Young Woman's Christian Temperance Union.
One night, in lively fashion these girls, who had come from the poor-
est sections of London, serenaded Frances Willard and their "Y" lead-
ers, singing enthusiastically a white ribbon song. This led to their
participation in the exercises, on a certain evening, at a great rally in
Royal Albert Hall, London, under the auspices of the British Women's
Temperance Association.
An action song was announced on the program, but few of the audi-
ence were prepared for the touching and pathetic object-lesson now
given. To the melody of the "Battle Song of the Y's," a group of
little children, ragged, dirty and unkempt, from the East London
slums, came upon the front of the platform. They looked about with
amazement upon the sea of faces, the distant lights and the warm
coloring, touching curiously with their grimy hands the dresses of
those seated near them. Led by the "Sisters of the Poor" — the young
girls from Reigate — they sang the affecting words of Mary T. Lathrap :
"There's a shadow on the home, many hearts are sad to-day,
It hushes e'en the laughter of the children at their play.
At its coming want and sorrow across the threshold creep.
And amid their broken idols the mourning mothers weep."
As the sounds ceased, across the great auditorium came children's
voices in the words of the bright chorus:
"We are coming to the rescue we are coming in our youth!
The homes we build to-morrow shall be guarded by the truth ;
We are coming, coming to the battle of purity and right;
And for a winsome token Ave wear the ribbon white."
And a troop of well clad children came down the aisle bearing the
white ribbon; they swarmed upon the platform encircling with the
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The World^s Woman's Christian Temperance Union
"winsome token" the sad little group there gathered and singing their
encouraging words. Never was there given a more affecting and
striking object-lesson.
In the forceful address given by the commander of the Salvation
Army, Evangeline Booth, at the latest convention of the World's
W. C. T. U. in Philadelphia, she made this heartfelt, throbbing ap-
peal for the children: "Let the children speak — the little children, the
wronged children, the crippled children, the abused children, the blind
chil(lren, the imbecile children, the nameless children, the starved chil-
dren, the deserted children, the beaten children, the dead children!
O my God, this army of little children! Let their weak voices, faint
with oppression, cold and hunger, be heard! Let their little faces
pinched by want of gladness, be heeded! Let their challenge, though
made by small forms — too mighty for estimate — be reckoned with!
Let their writing upon the wall of the nation, although by tiny fingers,
as stupendous as eternity, be correctly interpreted and read, that the
awful robbery of the lawful heritage of their little bodies, minds, and
souls may be justly laid at the brazen gate of Alcohol!"
Dr. Charles Mayo, the famous surgeon, recently said: "Protection
of the health of children is today the world's greatest need. The lives
of countless little children are sacrificed because of lack of proper
care. Education and health must be coupled. Education helps from
the neck up, while health makes for the whole man. Health and edu-
cation are inseparable."
Miss Agnes E. Slack of London, honorary secretary of the World's
W. C. T. U., for many years, has organized progressive white ribbon
groups in countries on the continent and has helped place the W. C.
T. U. on the map of Europe. In those nations that are still strug-
gling to overcome organized opposition, literally millions are standing
for total abstinence and the abolition of the drink trade. How cheer-
ing it is to note that all India is awakening to the drink menace and
India's one native woman ruler. Her Highness, Nawad Sultan Jahan,
Begum of Bhopal, has proclaimed prohibition for her people. Her
Highness sensibly considers the welfare of her subjects vastly more
important than a revenue from the liquor traffic. India's daughters
are taking their rightful places in the new life which is surging
through the land. Five young women of high class have accepted the
positions of organizing secretaries for the India W. C. T. U. Burma's
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Women Torc h - b barer s
government has placed scientific temperance teaching in the curricula
of all government and government-aided schools. A talented native
organizer is establishing W. C. T. U.'s among her own people. The
president of the Palestine W. C. T. U. is one of ten women forming
an advisory council to the British administration. This council stands
for prohibition and has asked for a scientific temperance school law.
The British high commissioner, a Jew, favors prohibition as does also
the English bishop of Jerusalem, a convert since his visit to the United
States.
A number of the countries are fortunate in having as chief ex-
ecutives those who favor the outlawing of the liquor traffic. Lined up
with President Coolidge of the United States are President Hainisch of
Austria and President Masaryk of Czecho-Slovakia. The mother of
President Hainisch for many years has been an ardent W. C. T, U.
worker and is now the honorary president of the white ribbon society
of the Austrian republic.
The young people of Germany, including many university students,
are breaking away from the drink traditions of their country, as they
recognize in the drink habit one of its great handicaps. The Egyptian
W. C. T. U. has secured the signatures of six thousand Egyptian women
to a petition asking Parliament for the abolition of the manufacture
and sale of liquor. At a great rally in Cairo called to proclaim this
petition. Dr. Morton Howell, United States Minister, presided, and
His Highness Prince Mohammed Ali was a sympathetic platform
guest. Practically all the new republics of Europe, including Esthonia,
Latvia and Lithuania — new members of our World's W. C. T. U.
family — are enacting laws against the beverage alcohol trafHc. The
Latvian Parliament has adopted a law on the teaching of hygiene
in the schools with special reference to the danger of alcohol.
For some years South Africa has been trying to secure a local
option law. In 1923, the measure lacked only a few votes of passing
the Parliament. The wife of Premier Jan Smuts is said to be a
friend of the dry movement. For the protection of the native races —
which outnumber the white five to one — the necessity for prohibition
of the drink traffic is apparent. For four decades educational tem-
perance work has been carried on among the young people and children
of China. Thousands have been reached in the schools and colleges
of Central China. Military leaders and government officials have
78
The World^s Woman^s Christian Temperance Union
given their approval and aid to W. C. T. U. w^ork. The Parliament
of Japan has enacted a law forbidding the sale of liquor to minors.
This is the tenth country to pass such a beneficent measure. Svi^eden,
Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland form a sturdy quintet of Scan-
dinavian countries determined to outlaw^ beverage alcohol. In Brussels,
Belgium, scientific temperance instruction has been introduced in schools.
Emile Vandervelde, the Socialist deputy, has announced in the Chamber
of Deputies that he will move for the enactment of a dry law for
Belgium similar to the prohibition law in operation in the United
States. The announcement was made in the course of a debate on
a proposed measure for increasing the duty on alcohol for consumption.
The Italian Medical Congress has endorsed a government program
for restricted consumption of alcohol. Premier Mussolini, while not
favoring prohibition for Italy, has said, "Wine and spirit drinking
must no longer corrupt and debauch the Italian race."
The December, 1923, election in England was a victory for the
opponents of the drink trade. The new premier, Ramsay MacDonald,
is a pronounced dry. He says: "Everyone admits that the drink prob-
lem is pressing from a moral and economic point of view. The trade
has become a menace to the public and to the country. It corrupts
politics." The labor party declared that "it would place the drink
traffic under popular control." The liberal party went further and
stated that "the excessive consumption of alcoholic drink is one of
the main causes of unemployment, disease and poverty; and the right
of the citizens of a locality to decide for themselves the drink facil-
ities in their own area should no longer be withheld."
Commissioned by the National W. C. T. U. to make a World's
W. C. T. U. survey, Miss Gordon, accompanied by Miss Julia Free-
man Deane, the gifted editor of The Union Signal, at the close of
the London Convention in 1920 visited many European countries,
stabilizing the work already organized, encouraging the leaders and
securing others who would specially aid in scientific temperance work
in the schools. Miss Deane's journalistic assistance was invaluable.
In 1921 these flaming heralds of Christian democracy and the protec-
tion of the home, traveled 20,000 miles to visit Peru, Chile, Argentina,
Uruguay and Brazil. Their visit to Panama was given publicity by
"Sancocho" whose "News in Rhyme" is a feature of the Panama Star
and Herald. From his fourteen humorous verses one is quoted :
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Women Torc h - b barer s
"And Mistress Anna Gordon
Is coming down this way,
And says the whole world will be dry
At an early future day."
In her report of this survey Miss Gordon said, "With admiration
and hope the leading men and women of our twin continent have
watched North America's deliverance from the legalized liquor traffic.
Educators, legislators, leaders in social life, students, and thousands
of public school children gave to the representatives of the W. C. T. U.
a wonderfully enthusiastic welcome. Crowded assemblies in dignified
University Halls testified to the determined purpose of South America
to emulate the temperance triumph of the United States. In charming
fiestas, and nature pageants in handsome theaters boys and girls
proclaimed the personal and public benefit of aqua pura. Prohibition
is a live issue in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
Senor Alessandri, when President of the Republic of Chile, backed an
extremely active campaign to make the republic dry, studying
with keen interest the development in California and elsewhere, of
the food uses of the grape. The Uruguayan republic co-operated with
the anti-alcohol league of women federated to the World's W. C. T. U.
"Tell us how you did it," was the universal appeal. During their
three months' trip, tens of thousands heard from platform and press the
wonder-story of the progress and prosperity that prohibition has brought
to the sister republic — the United States of America. Miss Hardj'nia
K. Norville, the World's W. C. T. U. representative, assisted for two
years by Muriel Ayres of New York, is loyally supported by government
officials, women of the highest social circles, leading educators. Bishop
and Mrs, Oldham and many other Americans and British missionaries
and friends.
In the early spring of 1922, Miss Gordon made a survey of the work
in Old Mexico. This trip was a part of the world-survey made possible
by the Jubilee Fund of the National W, C. T. U. On her return to the
United States, Miss Gordon prophesied that in a new and significant
sense her countrymen would learn to say, "Our Mexico" as they, in fel-
lowship, shall exclaim "Our United States." Miss Gordon was greatly
pleased at the eager response by Mexican adults, young people, and chil-
dren to the white ribbon appeal. After a few weeks of visitation and
co-operation, she reported the National W. C. T. U. of Mexico "well
80
The World^s Woman^s Christian Temperance Union
equipped with officers, with a national organizer and superintendents of
the most essential departments." Senorita Ernestina Alvarado, the new-
ly elected young president, has studied in the United States and is deeply
interested in social welfare work. Mrs. Dwight Furness who was
elected to the vice-presidency, but was then in the United States promised
assistance through correspondence.
Miss Gordon was gratified to find that the program of Christian edu-
cation in Mexico has a large place for scientific temperance instruction.
She saw the fruit of the four years of unstinted devotion to anti-alcohol
propaganda given largely in the schools by Mrs. Addie Northam Fields.
One day a young nobleman on horseback rode impatiently up and
down the streets of a village in Cornwall. He was seeking for a public
house, where he could get a glass of that concerning which our Shakes-
peare said, "Alas! that man should put an enemy in his mouth to steal
away his brain !" but his search was vain, and coming upon a white haired
peasant on his way home after a day of toil, the young man said, with
rising anger, "Why is it that I cannot get a glass of liquor in this
wretched little village?" The old man recognized to whom he was to
speak, and taking off his cap, made his humble obeisance as he replied.
"My lord, about a hundred years ago a man named John Wesley came
to these parts" and the old man walked on. "A hundred years!' and he
was living still.
In 1974, the children and children's children of white ribboners living
in a sober world, will be saying, "Our homes are safeguarded today be-
cause one hundred years ago, under the leadership of Frances Willard,
the white ribbon women of the world united against the greatest enemy
the home ever has known."
The president of the World's W. C. T. U. is also one of the three
presidents of the World League Against Alcoholism. At the convention
of this organization held in Toronto in 1923, immediately after the
World's convention of the W. C. T, U. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
Anna Gordon said, "My soul is thrilled by the significance of this gath-
ering. I thank God that the World's Woman's Christian Temperance
Union is a part of this great World League Against Alcoholism. I am
glad our World's W. C. T. U. convention, with representatives from
twenty-five countries and over five hundred delegates, each one represent-
ing one thousand dues-paying members, sent greetings to this convention.
There must be co-operation if we want to gain a dry victory, and co-
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Women Torc h- be arer s
operation if we want to hold a dry victory. Tonight we can rejoice
that the leading dry forces in this and other lands have determined to
get together on a policy and a program to help bring about a condition
in the world that will make it brighter for women, happier for humanity,
and safer for little children."
The method of transportation is one of the problems in arranging
for a World's W. C. T. U. convention. Civilization continues to pass
important milestones. Arrangements for a World's W. C. T. U. con-
vention will yet be made by providing the necessary number of airships
for the journey. Lieutenant A. E. Reed, who heroically commanded
the magical ship of the air that first completed an ocean flight, says that
no drinking of intoxicants before or during the flight across the Atlantic
was allowed. "Safety First" demands that airships shall be kept high
and dry. One of the leading magazines is responsible for a witty and
pathetic incident about the appearance in a country town of the first
airplane. Near the edge of the crowd stood a black mammy and Uncle
George, a little old darky with a fringe of white whiskers around his
gentle, wrinkled face. As the plane appeared in the distant sky. Aunt
Amelia rocked her huge body back and forth in true camp meeting style
and beating her hands in time to the swaying, cried. "Thank the Lord;
thank the Lord." Uncle George gazed up in silence until the wonder
came very near. Then, raising his hands devoutly, he exclaimed : "I'se
ninety years old and dat's the onliest piece of God's furniture I eber
seen."
For the last four decades, the W. C. T. U. women of the Orient
have been listening intently and hopefully to the message of international
good-will. It was November 7, 1921 , and the attention of all the world
was centered on the Conference for the Limitation of Armaments, then
assembling at the White House in Washington, D. C. Everyone wel-
comed Madame Kaji Yajima, tlie Frances E. Willard of Japan, who
in her ninetieth year, traveled 8,000 miles to present to the President
of the United States, a peace petition from her countrywomen.
It was Anna Gordon's happy privilege, representing the World's
W. C. T. U., to present Madame Yajima to President Harding. Stand-
ing beside them were leaders of the major women's organizations of the
country — a remarkably significant group. With a serene smile, and
charming naturalness, this venerable gentlewoman whom the Mikado
had decorated for her patriotic and humanitarian service, said to the
82
(Above) Miss A. Amy Spalding; (in centre) Miss Christine I. Tinling;
Madame Kaji Yajima, Miss Hardynia K. Norville; (below) Miss Flora E.
Strout, Mrs. Frances Willard Wang Liu.
The World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union
President, as she placed in his welcoming hands the precious petition
inscribed on Japanese rice paper :
"Mr. President, as a Christian woman of Japan I have come to
America to pray for the success of the coming Conference for the Limi-
tation of Armaments. I perceive the invitation which you sent to the
Japanese Government is based on the Christian faith, and I wish to see
the Christian foundation for the Conference reinforced by prayer. I am
happy to recall the passage of the Scripture that you selected at your
inauguration. Truly God has shown you 'what is good.' The dele-
gates from Japan do not adhere to any of the Christian creeds, but they
love honor and justice. I wish to pray particularly for the close and
hearty co-operation between Japan's delegates and the other delegates
who are Christians like yourself. I wish also to pray for the delegates
of all countries represented at the Conference. Our languages may dif-
fer, but I believe God will hear us when we pray with all our hearts
and with all our souls. Moreover, while prayers may be offered any-
where, I believe it will mean infinitely more if those with one purpose
gather together at one place to pray for the one thing they crave. I
have brought with me a resolution signed by more than ten thousand
peace-loving women of Japan, who thus express their earnest desire that
the Conference may succeed. These signatures really representing all
the women of Japan were obtained in the two weeks preceding my depar-
ture, and I have the honor to present to you, Mr. President, this peace
resolution embodying the aspiration of Japanese womanhood. May the
blessing of God be with you as you labor under His guidance for the
peace of the world; may the coming Conference prove a grorfous event
in history and usher in the dawn of a new era, wherein there shall be no
more wars but peace and good-will shall prevail among all the nations
of the earth !"
President Harding combined the gracious urbanity of a Christian
gentleman with the dignity of an executive who represents one hundred
and twelve million people of a great republic, as he said: "Madame
Yajima, I am so happy to have you here. I feel a reverence for you.
I think it is wonderful that during so long a life you have retained your
interest in the affairs of the world and that you still radiate the spirit
of youth. I think you are a dear, sweet, interesting old lady."
The most distinguished of the many receptions tendered Madame
Yajima, her accomplished secretary, Atzuma Moriya, and her missionary
83
Women Torc h- be arers
friend and able interpreter, Mrs. Henry Topping, was the one given
by Prince Tokugawa of Japan, the distinguished delegate to the Con-
ference, who represented the Shoguns, the most ancient royal family of
Nippon. With charming oriental courtesy and dignity, the prince wel-
comed his guests, and especially Madame Yajima, as he said: "Even in
these days of remarkable things, I think you will agree with me that the
effort which Mrs. Yajima has made to prove once more the common
kinship of our common humanity is worthy of highest praise. There is
no world movement at the present time which ig more significant than
the interest which the women of all lands are now taking in every great
question which concerns the uplift of the human race. In all that af-
fects the status of woman and her elevation to that plane which is right-
fully hers in the scale of civilization, you women of America have been
the leaders and the pioneers. In your struggles for right and justice,
in your devotion to the cause of peace and temperance, in your support
of education and moral purity, you have been an inspiration to your
sisters of other lands. The people of Japan are grateful for the honors
which you have so freely showered upon the head of Mrs. Yajima, and
I want to assure you that they see in your great kindness to her a certain
omen of those closer and more cordial relations which are destined to
grow up between the peoples of America and Japan."
Fearing nothing, not even an anticipated "hold-up" in the western
Pullman car, Madame Yajima made friends for peace and white ribbon
principles, prophesying that within ten years Japan would have prohibi-
tion. This poetic tribute by a mid-west metropolitan daily, found its
way into many hearts and homes:
"From cherry blossom land she comes,
A little woman quaint and old,
Risking her all that she may bring
A gift of spirit sweet and bold:
'One hundred thousand women hearts
Petitioning for Peace!'
"No gifts she asks nor favor craves.
Nor mandate brings for war to cease.
From where 'hearts mobilized' await
She comes — a human dove of peace
'One hundred thousand women hearts
Petitioning for Peace!'
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The World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union
"In this vast land can we do less
Than 'mobilize our hearts,' as they,
The little women of Japan?
And kneel with them and bravely pray ?
An Army of the Spirit, thus
Petitioning for Peace!"
Madame Yajima brought to Rest Cottage, in Evanston, Illinois, now
World's W. C. T. U. Headquarters, as a gift to Anna Gordon a
sake bowl presented to her by the Mikado. With the rare gift is shown
a picture of a large empty sake bowl, in the temple of Amanda Ike in
Osaka. Over it is a firmly shut lock; and the key is thrown away.
It is a temperance pledge — the emaj or votive offering of a poor drunk-
ard, who has tried to break away from his bad habit and now, in desper-
ation, is seeking the help of the gods. Others addicted to drink have
joined with him in his prayer. Each one of these men has chewed
a "paper prayer" and thrown it at the locked sake bowl, a customary
religious act. A typical ema is one that shows the kneeling worshiper
gratefully offering two jugs of sacred wine — because of "desire fulfilled."
The National W. C. T. U. of Japan is seeking to increase the emas
depicting locked sake bowls — instead of the picture- of jugs con-
taining sacred wine.
The world is going dry! Yes, the religious world, the educational
world, the business world, the social world, "are awakening out of
slumber deep and long, and the race is beginning to understand that
right can conquer wrong," The fetters forged by alcoholic drink and
its attendant evils, will surely break. An international soul, as well
as an international mind, has decreed the utter destruction of the
legalized liquor traffic. The World's W. C. T. U. rejoices that this
victory, so sure to come, shall be acclaimed one of the greatest triumphs
of Christianity.
Bartholdl's statue of liberty has a woman's form and depicts his
mother's face. It symbolizes "Liberty According to Law."
"Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame
With brawny limbs astride from land to land.
Here, at our sea-washed sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman, with a torch whose flame is the
imprisoned lightning
And her name, 'Mother of Exiles.' "
85
CHAPTER V
Legislative Achievements
Believing, as Browning says, that "All's love, but all's law," white
ribboners, though voteless, early resolved to make love legislatively
articulate.
Protection of the home was the ultimate objective. The Federal
government, in its partnership with the liquor traffic, did not exemplify
love. Women, children and homes were exploited, while legal protec-
tion was extended to breweries, liquor men, distilleries and saloons.
The liquor traffic, like a deadly cancer, was eating out the life of the
people. National W. C. T. U. petitions to the national parties, ask-
ing them to embody in their platform resolutions against the manu-
facture and sale of alcoholic liquors, were rejected. The legalized
liquor traffic, a great financial political monopoly, held the balance ot
power. ^ ^. i^^^^p";
In 1875, a huge petition collected by the local and state Woman's
Christian Temperance Union, asking for the prohibition of the liquor
traffic, was sent to Congress. It was presented by United States Sena-
tor, Henry W. Blair of New Hampshire, a fearless, heaven-sent states-
man. A few years before his death, in an address to white ribboners,
he recalled with pride this notable occasion, and said: "That first
petition of the National W. C. T. U. was as big as a barrel. It was
mounted on a large framework, rolled down the aisle and left in
front of the Speaker."
In 1876, Senator Blair introduced the first bill for a prohibition
amendment to the United States Constitution. Frances Willard was
Senator Blair's inspiration, and from that early period the National
W. C. T. U. followed this Constitutional Prohibition gleam.
The creation of a national Legislative department made activities
in this line more definite, systematic and effective. "Just where they
were" in the home, school, professional and business life, thousands of
women hopefully and untiringly worked for the outlawing of the liquor
traffic. From 1874 to 1895 the able national leaders of the "Legal"
department were Mrs. Annie Wittenmyer, Mrs. Mary A. Wood-
bridge, Mrs. J. Ellen Foster, Mrs. Ada M. Bittenbender, Mrs.
Catherine Waugh McCulloch, Mrs. Frances Belford, and Mrs. Mary
Towne Burt.
86
(Below) Part of National W. C. T. U. Legislative Headquarters,
Washington, D. C; Mrs. Lenna Lowe Yost placing a W. C. T. U.
Allegiance Enrollment Card in one of the filling cases.
(Above) Mrs. Margaret Dye Ellis.
Legislative Achievements
In 1895, with the appointment of Mrs. Margaret Dye Ellis of
New Jersey as National W. C. T. U. superintendent, National W. C.
T. U. headquarters were opened at Washington, D. C. and for
twenty- four years, until 1919, Mrs. Ellis was the national Legislative
superintendent and during the sessions of Congress, the resident Legis-
lative representative. Throughout the years, she contributed to The
Union Signal an edifying, weekly Washington Letter.
The story of this quarter century, covering the legislative activi-
ties of Mrs. Ellis, is coincident with the lives of Frances Willard,
Lillian Stevens, Anna Gordon, Mary Lathrap, Clara Hoffman, Louise
Rounds, Katharine Lent Stevenson, Mary T. Burt, and many other
well-known leaders. It is a living picture of the American woman's
indomitable, ballotless struggle for home protection.
Students of American history, as well as white ribboners, will be
interested in some of the incidents of that period when temperance work
was most unpopular and woman's entrance into the arena of politics
was considered not only a regrettable delusion, but an unwarranted
intrusion. With a deep realization and heartfelt appreciation of the
co-operation she received from the general officers of the National
W. C. T. U. and the rank and file, Mrs. Ellis has told reminiscently
some of her adventures which today read like a romance. They are
illustrative of the nation-wide constructive legislative activities accomp-
lished during this quarter century.
It was in 1873 in Alameda, California, a little town across the bay
from San Francisco, that the Crusade fire reached Mrs. Ellis. Her
home cares kept her busy, her husband and three little girls claiming
all her attention. Aroused by the Crusade news from Ohio, the Ala-
meda women of all denominations came together for prayer. What
should they do? In a few days, they courageously determined to visit
the saloons and talk with the saloon-keepers. In her inimitable way,
Mrs. Ellis tells the dramatic story:
"This was a difficult proposition; none of us felt equal to visiting
saloons. I was only thirty-two and inexperienced. But we were made
to realize that we were holding back that for which we had prayed.
The town was districted and certain women were assigned the task
of carrying an importunate message to the saloon-keepers. Mrs. Hill,
who later became very prominent in temperance work in Califor-
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Women Torc h - b barer s
nia, and I, were given the main street. Immediately she said, 'To-
morrow morning, I'll be here and we shall go together.'
"I slept very little that night. When at ten o'clock, Mrs. Hill
failed to arrive, I was glad, for I confess to having been a coward.
About a quarter past ten, she came full of apologies for having kept
me waiting. As we walked down the street that beautiful, sunshiny
morning, I felt as though enveloped in a fog. Mrs. Hill talked all
the way, but I never knew what she said. When we came to the first
saloon, there were three steps leading up to the swing-door. Mrs.
Hill went right ahead, pushed open the door, and passed in. She had
not noticed that I was not directly behind her; but as I stood look-
ing at those steps, it seemed to me that I could die rather than go
through that door. Finally, I had courage to enter. The proprietor,
a German, was alone and came forward to greet us, 'Good morning,
ladies!' he said; 'How can I serve you?' 'Good morning, sir!' she
replied ; 'Mrs. Ellis has something to say to 5'ou.' And I didn't have
a thing to say — I scarcely knew my own name. He saw my confu-
sion and his attitude changed in a minute. In his sarcastic way
he said, 'Oh, yes! I suppose you are here on the same errand those
women over in the states are at' — for Californians spoke of every-
thing east of the Rockies as 'over in the states.'
''Instantly my fear left me, for all a woman needs to help her
carry a question of principle is opposition. I looked the saloon-
keeper right in the eye as I said; 'Yes, sir, that is exactly why we
are here — to urge upon you the closing of your saloon.' He said,
'Now, ladies, look at this from my standpoint. I am a German; I
came to America to make money. I found that by the law of the state
I could open what I call a beer-garden — what you call a saloon. But
in order to do this, my application for a license had to have the names
of twelve respectable men.' Then, looking at us most earnestly,
he said, 'Do you ladies belong to that church up the street that has
a cupola? I got three good names from that church; the one that has
a steeple and bell — I had two names from there. Out of the dif-
ferent churches, I got nine names. Now, ladies, I paid my money; I
got my names: I have kept the law, and I have received my seal ot
the state.' Hereupon, he pointed to his license, framed and hanging
behind the bar. 'If j^our husbands want a different state of things,
let them make laws that we foreignefrs must abide by and not let
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Legislative Achievements
their wives come talking to us. You better stay home and take care
of 5^our children and not come to law-abiding saloons and ask them
to close up. Let your husbands do the talking at the polls.'
"I saw it from his point of view and, putting my hand across the
bar, I said, 'Shake hands! I never was in a saloon until this morn-
ing and I have never talked with a saloon-keeper.' That night I did
some talking with my husband and I asked him why he had not ex-
plained to me about the license system. With great surprise he said,
'Why, Mother, I supposed you knew all about it!' 'How should I
know! You were brought up in the prohibition state of Maine, but I
was brought up in New York City where Tammany rules.' During
the year and a half that I remained in Alameda, I had a young
people's class every Thursday and that saloon-keeper's little daughter
was a constant attendant. I won a friend in that man, but the
saloon went on."
Frances Willard often saw possibilities in women of which they
were quite unconscious. No other leader in the nineteenth century
awakened and developed so many women. When Mrs. Ellis said, in
reply to Miss Willard's presidential request that she undertake the
legislative work in Washington, "I am unequal to the task," Frances
Willard exclaimed, "Margaret, I will not listen to any refusal. You y
take that place and mother the work, doing your best." Mrs. Ellis
related this incident reminiscently and said, "I did it for twenty-four
years. When I see Frances again, as I probably shall soon, I shall
say, 'Frances, I wrought my best. When I was perplexed, but not dis-
mayed, I have stood in front of your beautiful statute under the dome
of the National Capitol and talked to you, and I seemed to hear you
say, "Go right on, Margaret, you are doing well." ' "
Upon Mrs. Ellis' arrival in Washington, D. C, in 1895, having
been elected national superintendent of Legislation and appoiated na-
tional Legislative representative, she was accompanied to the Capitol
by an uncle from California. As she approached the awe-inspiring
building, her uncle said reassuringly, *'Now, Maggie, don't feel that
you are in the way when you enter. Your father, your grandfather
and your great grandfather were American citizens, and your husband
is a patriotic voter. These uniformed men and the elected Senators and
Representatives are here to serve the people, and women as well as
89
Women Torc h - b barer s
men are the people, so don't be afraid to ask for what you want and
stick to it until you get it."
To her astonishment, Mrs. Ellis observed that at almost every
table in the Capitol restaurants beer and wine were being served.
This was contrary to law, for although the government at that time
permitted the issuing of licenses for the sale of liquor in the District
of Columbia, no permit could be granted for the sale of liquor in the
government buildings. Soon after, a bill was introduced in the House
prohibiting the sale of liquor in any Capitol building. As Mrs. Ellis
interviewed the Senators and Representatives, she found the subject
most unpopular. W. C. T. U. women in sections from which the men
came responded to Mrs. Ellis's appeal and Senators and Representa-
tives soon heard from their constituents at home. For some years,
these members of Congress were bombarded by letters and telegrams.
Finally, in 1903, the bill prohibiting the sale of liquor in the two
Capitol restaurants was placed as a rider to the immigration bill that
had to pass and great was the joy of the temperance forces when the
temperance rider passed the House and later, the Senate. It met some
opposition in the Senate, which was over-ruled by the speech of Sena-
tor Berry of Arkansas, an ex-confederate general v/ho during the civil
war had lost a leg from a Yankee bullet. He earnestly addressed the
president of the Senate, assuring him that for years he had been re-
ceiving letters and petitions from his God-fearing constituency in favor
of this bill, and in closing his speech, he exclaimed, "Sir, my vote will
be for the cleansing of our nation's Capitol from the sale of alcoholic
drinks." Instantly, a half dozen Senators were on their feet in support
of the measure, and the victory came. At once, an order directing that
all alcoholic liquors be removed from the Capitol was issued to the
lessees of the two restaurants. The order was obeyed. It was like
an up-to-date moving picture show to see men carry out scores of wine
cases and kegs of beer and load them on trucks. As the liquor dis-
appeared down the street, Mrs. Ellis, looking up at the dear old flag
surmounting the dome, said, "Praise Grod! May liquor never come
back to our nation's Capitol!" In a brief time every one saw the bene-
ficial effects of this action. It had not been an unusual thing, during
hearings, for members of committees to visit the drinking places down-
stairs. Occasionally, during the regular sessions, a member of Con-
gress was seen with his head buried in his arms, taking an alcoholic
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Legislative Achievements
nap. Later, Speaker Joe Cannon was urged to use his influence for the
repeal of the law. DrawHngly, in characteristic manner, he replied,
"The-Iaw-works-verj^-well ! We think we will let it s-t-a-n-d!"
The rider to the immigration bill included prohibition of liquor
at ports of entry and immigrant stations. It had been difficult for
a mother to get a drink of milk for her child or a cup of coffee for her-
self while beer was thrust upon them; but when the law was enforced,
pails of milk and coffee and tea in large quantities were served to all
the men and women arriving from other lands.
In the early days, petitions from voting constituents v/ere exten-
sively used, but later it was found that letters or telegrams had more
weight; still, as educators, petitions were unsurpassed. As soon as a
person had signed a petition, the sentimicnt became reflexive. He became
more interested in the passage of a bill. Members of the W. C. T. U.
were indefatigable in securing names and sending them to W. C .T. U.
headquarters in Washington, where they were classified and then sent
to Senators and Representatives. Thousands upon thousands of names
for various measures were received. Every morning Mr. Ellis carried
to the Capitol post-office, petitions for the Senate and House, each one
having been sealed and stamped. One day, he was accosted by a young
clerk in the House post-office, who questioned him rather officiously in
regard to the petitions, saying, "They are no good. Men will put them
right in the waste basket." "I should be most glad to get some of
them," replied Mr. Ellis, "and if you find one for me, I will pay you
a dollar." Even though the request was repeated day after day, and
the promised reward reached the sum of $5.00, no petition was ever re-
turned and the young clerk finally obsequiously acknowledged that it
was only a bluff. It was heartbreaking to read many pathetic letters
accompanying the petitions, sometim.es coming from women over eighty
years of age, who had walked miles on the prairies in mud or snow to
get the names of men because they had a vote.
The first bill in the passing of which the national representative
had a part, was on raising the "age of consent" for the District from
ten to sixteen years. There were hearings before the House Judiciary
Committee, and Mrs. Ellis, with fear and trembling, went to the
Capitol to speak for the voiceless girls. Sixteen members of the W. C.
T. U. met in the ladies' parlor. They closed the door and held a
brief prayer-meeting — the first of its kind in that historic building,"
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Women Torc h - b barer s
then they crossed the corridor to the committee room where eighteen
men were smoking, chatting, and writing. The chairman admonished
the women not to overstep the time, and allowed them fifteen minutes.
Mrs. Ellis and Mrs. Margaret B. Piatt, President of the District of
Columbia W. C. T. U., were the speakers. Their heartfelt appeals
were made in twelve minutes. Later, the bill became a law, changing
the age of consent from ten to sixteen.
The salutary influence of the National W. C. T. U. in foreign
diplomatic affairs is illustrated by this incident:
During the administration of President McKinley, in 1897, a letter
from Mrs. Isabel Strong, the stepdaughter of Robert Louis Stevenson
— a letter written at Samoa, South Sea Islands — was received by the
National W. C ,T. U. representative in Washington, D. C. Mrs.
Isabel Strong stated that the natives, a simple and kindly class, were
the victims of the illegal sale of liquor. It appeared that the Ameri-
can consul located at Samoa was responsible for this infringment of
law. As a result of the use of intoxicants, the people, formerly so
friendly, became savage. Murders were frequent and whole families
became addicted to drink. Mrs. Ellis was implored to do something
to prevent the wholesale destruction of the people. She arranged to
have Mrs. Strong's letter read before the United States Senate
Foreign Relations Committee in Congress, and it was also brought
to the attention of the President. The liquor selling consul was re-
called, and a rule was established prohibiting any person represent-
ing the United States Government from selling liquor in a foreign
country. ./
The description of one day's activities at the Washington W. C.
T. U. headquarters is typical of many. After speaking at a hearing, the
W. C. T. U. Legislative representative hurried, by telephone request, to
Saint Elizabeths, the Federal Insane Asylum, and by her persuasion
liberated the daughter of a W. C. T. U. mother who had been illegally
incarcerated. After luncheon, she dictated letters, attended an ex-
ecutive meeting of the District of Columbia W. C. T. U., and an eve-
ning reception at the White House gave her splendid opportunity to
make friends for the cause. It was no unusual thing, she recalls, to
spend from one to three hours in an ante-room for an interview with the
President, the chief of a department, or a Senator. "Many a spiritual
blessing have I received," said Mrs. Ellis, "as I realized that it was
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Legislative Achievements
not necessary to wait even one moment to have a personal audience
w^ith the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords."
Early in her W. C. T. U. service at Washington, an unexpected
social afifair gave the Legislative representative an introduction to the
American Anti-Saloon League. A committee of the leaders was in con-
ference at the residence of Hon. Hiram Price, president of the Anti-
Saloon League of the District. The topic for discussion was the de-
sirability of opening Legislative headquarters in Washington. Already,
the W. C. T. U. had made a place for itself along Congressional lines,
and with a desire to arrange for co-operative activities, Mrs. Ellis called
at the residence of Mr. Price. She was most cordially greeted and Mr.
Price, a widower, exclaimed: "You have come at the psychological
moment. Lunch is about to be served, and I would be most grateful
if you would kindly preside at the head of my table."
Mrs. Ellis gladly accepted the invitation, as it gave her an oppor-
tunity to meet personally the members of the committee. In a formal
conference that followed, she stated to the assembled gentlemen that
the W. C. T. U. already was an acknowledged factor in Congressional
circles, and in the political life of Washington, and she felt sure
that the t^vo organizations would work together most harmoniously.
It was in 1898 that a gentleman who had just returned from Ma-
nila, handed Mrs. Ellis a little book, saying, "Here is some good work
for the W. C. T. U." The publication contained the picture of a six-
teen-year-old Filipino girl. Underneath was her autograph,
"Marie — ." The pages contained certifications by surgeons of the
American army, who declared that on a certain day Marie — was found
to be free from venereal disease. Marie was one of many girls who paid
fifty cents for a fortnightly examination, and if they were found to be
diseased, they paid two dollars and were taken to the hospital to be
"cured." Then they were allowed to pursue their so-called profess-
ion. Mrs. Ellis took the book to Senator Gallinger of New Hampshire
and said to him, "You are a phj'sician and a father, and I am a mother,
and these girls should be protected." He looked the book over and
said, "I should like to borrow this for a few days, as there are one
hundred men or more under this Capitol dome who would take an oath
that no such condition exists in connection with our army in the Philip-
pines. I should like to present this documentary evidence."
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Women Torc h - b barer s
At the next interview, it was decided that the women were the best
ones to undertake the task of enlightening the public. In consultation
with Mrs, Lillian M. N. Stevens, president of the National W. C.
T. U., who arrived at this time in Washington, the plan for an in-
forming campaign was carried out. A few pages of the certificates
signed by army surgeons were printed, the leaflet containing also the
girl's picture. Thousands of these circulars were sent to white ribbon
women, cabinet officers, and their wives, and to influential friends,
with a requesj: that letters and telegrams be sent to President Roosevelt
protesting against such an un-American condition. The circular stated
that American women are splendidly protected by their country's flag,
and the women of the United States demand that women in our new
possessions, Hawaii and the Philippines, should have equal safeguard-
ing. One morning, weeks after, Mrs. Ellis was called to the Insular
Division and the chief of the division said, "Madam, can you tell who
has been sending out the circular letters about the Filipino girls and
our army?" "Yes," Mrs. Ellis replied, "representing the W. C. T. U.,
I have done it." "You!" was his response. "Well, let me tell you,
madame, that for three weeks I have had to have an extra corps of
secretaries and I have writer's cramp signing my name. Perhaps you
can tell me also how many women there are in the W. C. T. U. ?"
"About half a million," she replied. "I thought you were a million,"
answered the chief. "These letters, if piled up, would reach above my
head, and I am six-feet-two. Mrs. Ellis, can't you call off your
women?" "It isn't an easy matter to stop women who are as deeply in-
terested as ours are," answered his visitor. "How much longer will
they need to keep up this agitation?" "Madame," he replied, "you will be
glad to know that the order for the suppression of registered prostitution
was issued yesterday by President Roosevelt." The order contained
these great words, "The only real, efficient way to control diseases due
to immorality is to diminish the vice which is the cause of these dis-
eases." In recounting this victory, Mrs. Ellis said, "I have been sing-
ing the doxology ever since. We sent out fourteen thousand circulars,
and if every one brought a letter, it did the business. Now, I am
working to secure a new clause in the Chinese exclusion bill that will
keep girls from coming to this country to personate Chinese village
life and then be sold here as prostitutes. Ninety-two who came for the
Omaha Exposition were sold and no one could find them. I have
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Legislative Achievements
been to see the Chinese Minister, Secretary of the Treasury Shaw,
and several others. Secretary Shaw said with great earnestness, 'Tell
your women the Chinese girls shall be protected.' "
During the extended agitation connected with the removal of the
canteen from the army, Mrs. Ellis was approached by a seemingly
intelligent woman who inquired, "Why do you work so hard to take
away from the soldier the canteen which holds his drinking water?"
Mrs. Ellis, amazed at her point of view, exclaimed, "Do you not know
that the canteen we are fighting is a liquor saloon in the Army Post
Exchange?" The canteen, or post exchange, started in the barracks
in Vancouver, Washington territory, as a saloonless recreation room
and store for the men of the regiment. A few years later, beer and
other alcoholic drinks were sold. The result was most disastrous,
and the W. C. T. U., in union with other temperance organizations,
attacked the army saloon through a bill introduced into both Houses
of Congress. This bill was bitterly assailed by army people and mem-
bers of the German and American Alliance. Never was there a more
persistent and powerful battle waged against the liquor traffic so firm-
ly intrenched in the army and navy. While the temperance forces had
a host of friends in both, still many officers of the highest ranks were
opposed to any change. During one session, over forty thousand
petitions in favor of this measure passed through the Washington W.
C. T. U. headquarters. This number increased to hundreds of thous-
ands before the bill became a law. For years the struggle continued.
Avalanches of letters and telegrams kept pouring in on Congress until
in 1901 the allied temperance forces won the victory. The National
W. C. T. U. at once began Vv^orking for recreation buildings at army
posts, and a half million dollars was appropriated by the Federal gov-
ernment for the building and maintenance of post exchanges. Later,
an additional appropriation of $3,500,000.00 was made by Congress
for the erection and equipment of gymnasiums, bowling alleys, read-
ing and writing rooms.
The national Legislative superintendent, in visiting the city of
Portland, Maine, rejoiced that the man with an appetite for alco-
holics was not met at every corner by a saloon and pictures of men
holding out glasses of beer. Rev. Smith Baker of Portland, at the
time of an election in Maine, said to a great audience, "I have lived
in licensed Massachusetts and in prohibition Maine, and I say that
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Women Torch-bearers
the law of Maine does prohibit. Portland is one of the finest cities
in the country. Scores of children who walk up and down these streets
never see anything of a saloon or a drunkard. That does not mean
that there are no people who drink, but it does mean that the children
know that the law prohibits the selling of liquor. I would rather
have my right hand cut off than have liquor come to Maine and to
the city of Portland."
The superiority of the prohibition law of Maine to the license
law of Massachusetts was impressed also upon the writer, when she
was present at a liquor spilling in the basement of the city hall of
Portland. A small but notable group gathered to witness this legal-
ized destruction of alcoholic liquor. Through an aperture in the
cement floor, jug after jug of whisky and beer and bottles of wine
were broken and their contents gurgled into the Atlantic ocean, Neal
Dow, Frances Willard, Mrs. Lillian M. N. Stevens, Anna Gordon,
and others participated in this unusual ceremony. To one accustomed
to seeing in Boston saloons on every corner and wagons of beer and
other liquors rattling over the historic streets of the "hub", it was
amazing to note how small was the amount of liquor that in three
months time had been confiscated.
This touching incident tells how one little Kansas woman saved
the day for state constitutional prohibition. For fifteen years, Kansas
had been blessed with a process of education by means of a local option
law. In cities of the second class, women had an equal voice with
men in voting on the liquor question. They were in a campaign to
secure a prohibitory constitutional amendment. The bill for sub-
mission had passed the senate, the day came when it was up in the
house. Temperance people and liquor men were all out. There had
been a long stormy debate. It was midnight, and the roll was to be
called. Men who were keeping tally saw that there was danger of
losing the temperance victory — by just one vote. At that critical mo-
ment, a gentle and modest woman, with all eyes following her, left
the throng and went down the aisle of the house where woman never
trod before — straight to her husband, a party leader, and whispered
to him, "My darling, for my sake, for the sake of our sweet home,
for Kansas' sake, and God's, I beseech you, change your vote." Al-
most instantly, the man arose and in a deep voice said, "Mr. Speaker,
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Legislative Achievements
before the clerk reads the result, I wish to change my vote from 'No'
to 'Aye'."
Still another little story recounts the home side of the many cam-
paigns: A Kentuckian who had overcome the drink habit, was the
husband of an earnest white ribboner. On the first election day after
his reformation, his wife said to him, "Dear John, you know I never
said a word about your politics before, but if I've been a comfort to
you, do please go today and vote against the saloon for my sake and
that of ©ur little ones." John didn't answer. At the polls he met some
of his old cronies and they handed him a ballot for "license." John
didn't answer them, but secured a clean ballot. He took the license
ballot and tore it to bits. Then, holding the temperance ballot aloft,
he said, "Boys, I've always joined with you before, but by the grace
of God, here goes a vote for Sally and the children T
Scientific facts taught in the public schools, and on Temperance
Sunday in the Sunday Schools made known to the people that alcoholic
drink endangered the public health and the public morals. The home
forces rejoiced when the Supreme Court rendered the following deci-
sion: "No legislature can bargain away the public health or the public
morals; the people themselves cannot do it, much less their servants.
Government is organized with a view to their preservation and cannot
divest itself of the power to provide for them."
When the merging of Indian territory with Oklahoma was pro-
posed, there was consternation on the part of the temperance people
who feared if the two were joined, liquor would be introduced in the
Indian territory where, by treaty, it had been prohibited. That pre-
cipitated another great struggle which proved of long duration. "It
is surprising," said Mrs. Ellis, "how good men in both Houses cham-
pioned liquor." Senator Gallinger introduced a resolution prohibiting
the sale for twenty-one years in that part of the state of Oklahoma
known as Indian territory, but the decision was finally left to the
voters. The brewers bitterly fought constitutional prohibition for
Oklahoma on the ground that they had made heavy investments there
and with prohibition would sustain heavy losses. They seemed to
forget that no man has an inherent right to engage in the liquor traffic
and that all mioney invested in the business is put into it at the in-
vestor's risk.
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Women Torch-bearers
"Old Glory is to have another star for the state of Oklahoma!"
So announced Mrs. Ellis in 1906, in her "Letter from Washington."
"The last legislative act to admit Oklahoma and Indian territory
as a single state of the Union v/as taken in the House, June 14, 1906,
and received at once the signature of the President. During the last
six years, one of the most notable battles of history has been w^aged
over statehood. We rejoice over the clause which insures for twenty-
one years prohibition in that section of the state formerly Indian ter-
ritory and that the liquor men driven from local option counties in
contiguous states are for it." "It is recorded," said Lillian M. N.
Stevens at the next national convention, "that the first public prayer
oiifered in Oklahoma was by a woman, a white ribboner, and the
only woman present at the organization of the territory into a com-
monwealth. All hail to the new great state which enters upon its
statehood life constitutionally free from the blighting, blasting curse
of the legalized liquor traffic!"
Mrs. Katharine B. Patterson of New Mexico, wrote Mrs. Ellis
asking her to help influence the constitutional convention in New
Mexico, as it was made up largely of liquor men. Mrs. Ellis went
to Senator Blair for advice. Following instructions from the national
Legislative superintendent, Mrs. Patterson had a large number of
circular letters printed in Spanish and they were sent out under letter-
postage. Later, on investigation, it was found that eight hundred were
sent to the dead letter office. "It was the W. C. T. U. that really
got prohibition into the constitution," says Mrs. Ellis.
The New Mexico constitution had been written by the corporate
interests (coal and railway) mainly, and was made practically un-
amendable. The Flood amendment was a provision attached by Con-
gress for the people to vote upon, whereby the constitution could be
amended by a majority vote. Without that, there could have been
no hope for state constitutional prohibition. A great fight was made
against the Flood amendment by certain interests; but it passed by
a big majority, and instead of putting prohibition back, constitutional
prohibition was carried in New Mexico by the largest majority vote
of any state — in proportion to population.
Mrs. Katharine B. Patterson, who with the help of her sister, Mrs.
Minnie Byrd, gave herself freely and indefatigably to the campaign
against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, stated in an address at
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Legislative Achievements
the next National W. C. T. U. convention: "New Mexico and
Arizona owe to Mrs. Ellis, our courageous national superintendent of
Legislation, who sent out hundreds of letters and showed splendid
strategy, to Ex-Senator Blair (whom the New Mexico ring politician
hates next to Senator Owen) and to Hon. Mr. Nicholson, national
Anti-Saloon superintendent, a debt, the greatness of which nothing but
the centuries can reveal,"
It was on the steamship "Celtic," on her trip to Glasgow to attend
the World's W. C. T. U. convention, in 1910, that Mrs. Ellis had a
most interesting incognito interview with one of the ship's officers.
While she was taking an evening constitutional on the deck she thought
she observed land in the hazy distance. An officer of the ship ap-
proaching her, she said, "Is that land I see?" "Yes, ma'am," and he
proceeded to explain the points of interest the ship was approaching.
"May I ask the position you occupy on this great ship?" was Mrs,
Ellis' next question. With manly dignity he replied, "Ma'am, I am
chief engineer on this vessel. I am responsible for your life and the
lives of all these hundreds of passengers." Mrs. Ellis said, "I have
heard that grog is no longer provided for the sea men. How do
they get along without it?" "Why, they are infinitely better off,"
the officer replied, "At one time in emergency we gave additional
drinks to the seamen, but soon found that when the reaction came,
the men at the engines were not able to cope with their arduous
tasks." "What do you use in place of grog?" Mrs. Ellis asked. "Oat-
meal water, and it satisfies and nourishes," replied the engineer.
"How do you prepare it?" was the next question. "Pour a quart of
uncooked oatmeal into a pail of cold water. The men stir it and
drink it from their dippers.. Too much cold water alone would have
an unfavorable physical effect. The men in charge of the engines
stand intense heat far, far better with this drink than they did with
the grog."
In 1910, Mrs. Ellis was a delegate to the World's W. C. T. U.
convention in Glasgow, Scotland, In 1911, during President Taft's
administration, an invitation came from Wilhelmina, Queen of the
Netherlands, to have American delegates sent to the International
Congress Against Alcoholism, to be held at the Hague, Twelve
delegates were appointed by the Department of State, including two
ladies, Mrs, Margaret Dye Ellis and Mrs. Edith Smith Davis. The
99
Women Torc h- be arers
presiding officers of the Congress were the Secretary of State, the
Attorney General, and the other officials of the Holland government,
and the American delegates were tendered a reception by the American
consul at his residence, a three-story building two hundred years old,
in the erection of which no nails or screws had been used.
While the congress was in session, the state of Maine voted, after
a strenuous campaign, on the retention in the constitution of the pro-
hibition amendment. The first word reaching one of the largely at-
tended sessions of the congress in the Hague was that prohibition in
Maine had been defeated and the "Pine Tree State" had gone back
on its record. The congress, including men from countries all over
the world, received with consternation and tears the disappointing word.
The next evening, however, one of the speakers was interrupted by
a commotion. All eyes were fixed in wonderment upon a group of
men standing in the door. Suddenly, with great enthusiasm, a gentle-
man came forward waving a cablegram and shouting "Maine is all
right — prohibition has triumphed!" "Who signed that message?" one
of the American men shouted, and when he heard the answer "Lillian
M. N. Stevens," he exclaimed, "Then it is authentic, for Mrs. Stevens
is not only president of the Maine W. C. T. U., but also of the
National Woman's Christian Temperance Union of the United
States." A joyous demonstration followed.
Why did Europeans as well as Americans attach so much sig-
nificance to the name of Lillian M. N. Stevens? Let a brief outline
of the background of Mrs, Stevens' legislative achievements reply.
In 1894 the National W. C. T. U. created the office of vice-president-
at-large. Mrs. Stevens, on the nomination of Frances E. Willard, was
the first to be elected to that office. On Miss Willard's decease,
February 17, 1898, Mrs. Stevens directed the national organization,
and at the national convention held in the autumn of that year, was
elected president. Mrs. Stevens was an extremely clever presiding
officer, and her ability as an organizer, a speaker and a writer on the
prohibition question was of a superior quality.
In 1900 Mrs. Stevens was chosen vice-president-at-large of the
World's W. C, T, U, and presided over the International Conventions
at Geneva, Switzerland, in 1903; Boston, Massachusetts, 1906; Glas-
gow, Scotland, 1910; and Brooklyn, New York, 1913. While inter-
ested in the different phases of the "Do Everything Policy" of the
100
Legislative Achievements
W. C. T. U., Mrs. Stevens was best known in her work for prohi-
bition. For many years she was Neal Dow's chief coadjutor ag they
carried out plan after plan. In 1884, the Maine Woman's Christian
Temperance Union, under the leadership of Mrs. Stevens, bore a large
share of the burden of the campaign for state constitutional prohibition.
Up to that date prohibition in Maine was only statutory, but as a
result of an earnest and comprehensive campaign, prohibition was writ-
ten into the constitution of the state by a vote of three to one.
Increasing temperance legislation throughout the country alarmed
the liquor forces who saw what it would mean if they could bring about
the resubmission and repeal of Maine's prohibitory law. In 1911, the
insurgency-tariff wave which had struck many sections of our country
swept into office in Maine men who were in favor of resubmission,
some of them strong advocates of a license law. Without doubt the
turning point of national prohibition in the United States came with
the victorious settlement of the resubmission question in Maine.
Mrs. Stevens' last public address was given in Portland on the
occasion of a day of prayer for National Constitutional Prohibition.
Its topic was, "Why We Expect to Succeed." The address closed with
these words: "Some glad day the states in which today is entrenched
the liquor system, will rejoice that it has been abolished. Science,
philanthropy, reform, religion, and the business world are testifying
against the liquor traffic. In the light of all this we can see pro-
hibition looming up all the way from Mt. Kineo in the east to Mt.
Shasta in the west, from the pine forests in the north to the palmetto
groves in the south. We verily believe that the amendment for na-
tional constitutional prohibition is destined to prevail and that by 1920
the United States flag v^ill float over a nation redeemed from the
home-destroying, heart-breaking curse of the liquor traffic."
Soon after the passing on of Mrs. Stevens, April 6, 1914, an un-
usual tribute was paid her at a great state meeting. Hon. Charles S.
Hichborn in presenting a resolution of appreciation, said: "For the
first time in our history the state flag is half masted for a woman.
It is the silent tribute of a great people to a great life. It is the
symbol of a great grief at the passing of a great soul. It seems fitting,
too, that this convention give expression to the following sentiment:
In the midst of our deliberations we pause to pay the tribute of sincere
respect to the memory of that woman whose name has become a.
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Women Torch-bearers
household word wherever men and women are interested in the cause
of temperance and righteousness. The great leader is dead but the
cause still lives. All nations will pay homage to her virtues, and gen-
erations yet unborn will venerate the heroic character of Maine's
illustrious daughter, Lillian M. N. Stevens."
On February 8, 1913, the Interstate Commerce bill for the pro-
tection of prohibition territory passed the House of Representatives.
Accompanied by a group of white ribboners, Mrs. Ellis spent the day
at the Capitol. The votes stood 239 in favor of the bill to 62 op-
posed. Monday, February 10, the bill came up in the Senate for
final action. And the bill passed. It was sent to the White House
for the signature of President Taft, who kept the bill until February
28, when it was returned to the Senate with his veto. Senator Gal-
linger, who was in the chair, brought the veto message to the attention
of the Senate. In less than an hour the Senate passed it over Presi-
dent Taft's veto, sixty-three in favor, to twenty-one opposed. In the
House, on the following day, after a prolonged discussion, the same
favorable action was taken and the Interstate Commerce bill became
a law.
The W. C. T. U. was a notable factor in securing this victory.
Women, as well as men, filled the galleries. Representatives of the
liquor traffic were present in force, and it was interesting to note the
consternation on their faces, as the tally of the votes was being taken.
One man, who had been desperately prominent, wa^ seen to wring
his hands, as the clerk read the overwhelming result in favor of the
bill. Mrs. Ellis, as she listened to the speeches, recalled the fact
that for years the W. C. T. U. women had splendidly responded to
every appeal from the national Legislative superintendent. Faithfully
and systematically they had sent letters, telegrams and petitions to
Senators and Congressmen. The men had heard from home. En-
thusiastic W. C. T. U. leaders throughout the years had traveled
long distances to attend and speak at the hearings. To one of these
the W. C. T. U. of Georgia sent a delegation of forty, headed by
Mrs. Mary Harris Armor.
At another hearing, a German member of the committee declared
that Frances Willard in her last days repudiated prohibition. At the
close of his testimony, Miss Anna Gordon, in a spirit of righteous
indienation, addressed the chairman, saying. "I was Miss Willard's
102
Legislative Achievements
private secretary for twenty-one years. Everything she wrote passed
through my hands. I was made executor of her private papers. I
know her every thought, and up to the time of her death she supremely
believed in prohibition."
In 1917, prohibition won in Porto Rico. It was the bottle and
the cocoanut in contest. Porto Ricans were the first Latin people to
declare against the traffic in alcoholic liquors and it was the first
election in which the natives voted as American citizens. As seventy
per cent of the registered voters were illiterate, the cocoanut was used
as a symbol on each ballot by the drys and the bottle by the wets.
Several important hearings before the House Committee on Ter-
ritories concerning prohibition in Hawaii and Alaska, occurred in
January, 1917. In her Letter from Washington, January 18, 1917,
Mrs. Ellis said : "Miss Gordon, representing the National W. C. T. U.,
appeared before the House committee, the Hawaiian prohibition bill
being under discussion. In urging a favorable report from the com-
mittee. Miss Gordon commended the work of our organization in
Hawaii under the leadership of Mrs. J. M. Whitney, president of the
Hawaiian W. C. T. U. Rev. John D. Wadman of Honolulu made
a fine presentation of the subject and we are hoping and praying that
the Hawaiian bill will pass both houses before their adjournment.
The next day, a hearing on Alaska was held before the same com-
mittee. On November 7, 1916, Alaska voted dry but being a ter-
ritory, a bill has to be passed by Congress making prohibition legal.
The W. C. T. U. was represented at this hearing by Miss Gordon,
Mrs. Boole, Mrs. Hatcher and Mrs. Yost. Judge Wickersham, dele-
gate from Alaska, introduced his measure and spoke warmly in its
favor. He then presented Senator Sutherland, a member of the
Alaskan territorial legislature, and Mr. Herron, editor of xht Anchorage
TimeSj who urged the passage of the bill. Mrs. Hatcher, being
thoroughly conversant with the situation, made a convincing presenta-
tion of the case, and Mrs. Boole spoke ably from personal observation
made during a recent trip to Alaska."
At the National W. C. T. U. convention held in 1918, Mrs. Ellis
made her twenty-third, and final annual report. She said in part:
"I am deeply impressed with the advance of temperance sentiment
during these last twelve months. No such year for temperance ever
before dawned. Temperance sentiment has grown by leaps and bounds.
103
Women Torc h - b e arer s
To be sure, the war and its attendant demands for both army and
navy, have been responsible in some measure for this unprecedented
advance. But whatever the underlying cause, we thank God for the
marvelous result, and praise Him for the removal of obstacles that
to human insight seemed insurmountable. We began the year's work
at Washington, D. C, most auspiciously, by having the presence and
enthusiasm of over nine hundred earnest white ribboners, in attendance
at the annual convention of the National W. C. T. U. The dear old
Capitol building was the mecca toward which all hearts turned, and
many remained over to attend the discussion, and be present when
the vote for National Constitutional Prohibition was taken in the
House, December 17.
"Among the very noticeable hindrances to temperance legislation
in Congress, has been that of the German-American Alliance, which
in all possible ways has striven to circumvent and prevent the efforts
of the temperance forces at the nation's capital. At the many hearings
for the various temperance measures presented, members of the Alliance
would appear in force, always declaring their intense loyalty to the
government, but determined by all odds to have open saloons, and
the sale of liquors unhindered.
"During this year of investigations, the German-American Alliance
came in for its share of publicity. A sub-committee of Senators, not
all 'dry' men, but loyal Americans turned the light on the doings
of the Alliance, and the disclosures of bribe and intrigue brought to
light are far in advance of anything dreamed of. Back of the Alliance
stood the U. S. Brewers Association, who financed the organization,
that they might successfully fight all temperance legislation proposed
by Congress. It has been divulged that the brewers have paid in over
$700,000 alone to defeat Constitutional Prohibition. The report oi
the sub-committee to the full Judiciary committee was so convincing,
and later so reported to the Senate, that a vote of that body ordered
a repeal of the Federal charter granted them when organized, since
which time the Alliance claims to have disbanded. Another committee
of U. S. Senators are, at the present time, investigating the Brewers'
Association, and so far have brought to light stubborn facts as to the
loyalty of the organization. It has been found that since we entered
into the war, the brewers have paid thousands of dollars to push Ger-
man propaganda. They have bought daily newspapers published in
104
Legislative Achievements
difFerent parts of the country, to fight prohibition. A list of persons
engaged in business, and business concerns, who have aided temperance
in any positive way, was shown the committee as those who especially
came under the ban of the brewers, and would be punished accordingly.
The investigation which is still under way, bids fair to reveal a con-
dition of things that will startle the country, both as to their dis-
loyalty, and their defiance of law.
"Prohibition for Alaska, Porto Rico, and Hawaii, received due
amount of attention. It seems impossible to convey in such a report
as this, an idea of the amount of effort, or the methods emploj^ed for
measures such as these. The handling of petitions, the sending on
of letters from home, the many interviews, over, and over again, the
many hearings, the disappointments, the obstacles to meet with cheerful
face — the ways of doing legislative work are numberless — but when
victory comes, the heights are reached, the long hard road is forgotten,
and we go on our way rejoicing, ready for the next hard piece of
work.
"November 21, 1918, Congress closed the longest single session
in its history to date, and surely one of the most important. When
it adjourned, it had been in continuous session for three-hundred-and
fifty-four days, only eleven days less than a full year. They have only
eleven days' recess, as the Sixty-fifth Congress meets in its last session,
Monday, December 2.
"When I began my work in Washington, there were just three
states which had a prohibition law — Maine, Kansas, and North Da-
kota. Now there are twenty-eight, beside the District of Columbia,
Alaska, Hawaii, Porto Rico, the Canal Zone, and the Virgin Islands.
When I gave myself to the temperance cause, I enlisted for the war
When the final vote was taken in Congress and when forty-five states
ratified the amendment and placed it in the Constitution, I rejoiced
that it had been my privilege to work for forty years and so aid in
bringing that wonderful victory.
"There passes before me like a panorama the many bills in which
we have been interested. One of the pleasures connected with my
service has been the unanimity of sentiment and feeling of brotherly
kindness exhibited by the members of the different men's temperance
organizations located in Washington, D. C, all working along the
same lines for the same cause. What shall I say of the District W. C.
105
Women Torch-bearers
T. U. presidents and the splendid rank and file of the Woman's Chris-
tian Temperance Union who were never too weary to carry out the
plans of their representative, and always ready to do a little more.
God bless them, every one! The W. C. T. U. was an open door for
me into a closer walk with God. Through my association v.'ith white
ribbon women, I was led out into a broader vision — national and inter-
national. I shall always thank God for what the Woman's Christian
Temperance Union has done for m.e and for mine.
"Mrs. Lenna Lowe Yost, my associate for the past two years,
has been a constant source of helpfulness. Her enthusiasm and good
judgment have helped solve and smooth many knotty problems. I re-
linquish my position as representative of the National W. C. T. U.
at Washington, D. C, to her, as one fully qualified to carry the work
forward to complete victory. We have been greatly helped, and hon-
ored, in having our loved leader, Miss Anna Gordon, with us at
Washington headquarters weeks at a time. She is a veritable tower
of strength, and her presence has been invaluable. That the work may
continue to grow and expand until the whole world shall be freed
from the power and dominion of alcohol, is my earnest prayer."
In 1918, Mrs. Ellis was succeeded by Mrs, Lenna Lowe Yost, of
West Virginia, Possessing the ardor of young womanhood, excep-
tional acumen and expert experience, Mrs, Yost commenced her activi-
ties as Legislative superintendent and Legislative representative, at
National headquarters in Washington, D. C. Mrs. Yost's unusual
ability in legislative activities had been demonstrated when as presi-
dent of the West Virginia W. C. T. U. she led in campaigns for state
and national prohibition. She began her training in the practical
school of politics early in her married life, going personally to each
session of the state legislature to appeal for prohibition, woman suf-
frage, child labor laws, and many measures relating to the health and
welfare of women in industry. At this time her husband, Ellis A.
Yost, was a member of the legislature, and is well known as the father
of the state prohibition act, known as the Yost law.
The devotion of her own and kindred organizations to her, and
to the principles for which she stood and worked, were unswerving.
Judge McWhorter, one of West Virginia's prominent jurists, and
chairman of the Ratification Federation for the state prohibition amend-
ment, in a review of the campaign, in a public address, referred to
106
Legislative Achievements
Mrs. Yost as its Joan of Arc. Twelve years later, the same charac-
terization was used by an associate in legislative activities in Washing-
ton, D, C, in reference to her work at the nation's capital.
Mrs. Yost's supreme fitness for the strategic position she occupies
in the nation's capital city at once was evident. Her attractive per-
sonality and cogent reasoning never failed to disarm the prejudices of
the Senators and Representatives. From the first, Mrs. Yost has
wisely co-operated with all the allied temperance forces. She repre-
sents the National W. C. T. U. on the Woman's Joint Congressional
Committee, a remarkable committee representative of twenty-one na-
tional organizations of women. It acts as a clearing house for all
the constituent organizations. It designates itself as "the outcome of
a movement on the part of the great national organizations of women
to pool their resources and co-operate for the support of Federal legis-
lation which affects the interests of women in particular and makes
for good government in general." Mrs. Yost is the vice-chairman and
treasurer, and was the active chairman of the sub-committee that di-
rected the campaign for the Maternity and Infancy Law now admin-
istered by the Children's Bureau. This sub-committee during the last
few months of the campaign held more than one hundred sessions.
The work of receiving reports and checking up on 531 members of
Congress — the combined membership of the House and Senate — was
the task. In the last week of the contest, interviews at the rate of
fifty a day were held. This sub-committee interested the constituency
back home and secured a co-operation that brought success.
During these later years, the growth of the legislative work had
necessitated the removal of National W. C. T. U. headquarters from
the building owned by the District W. C. T. U. to the Hotel DriscoU
located near the Capitol, and Senate and House offices. Anyone who
has viewed by night the artistic Construction of the Capitol, illuminated
by powerful electric lights, will appreciate this description given by
Mrs. Ellis: "Nothing can equal the spectacle of the white edifice float-
ing, as it were, above the city, the incomparable dome of perfect pro-
portions shining in its purity against the sky; ethereal, yet tangible,
it is a token of the stability of the government."
The two rooms in the Bliss Building, near the Capitol, that now
constitute our Legislative headquarters, with Mrs. Yost in charge, are
indeed a hive of industry. Rows upon rows of cards in the files of
107
Women To rc h - b barer s
Allegiance to the Constitution enrollment are indexed by Congressional
Districts and are silent witnesses to the strength of the dry sentiment
in the country; for every card bears the name of a dues-paying member
of the W. C. T. U. Not only the name, but the address of each one
belonging to the W. C. T. U. is registered. The white cards of
the women members are reinforced by blue cards bearing the names
of men honorary members.
Frequent consultations with the commander-in-chief of the W. C.
T. U. forces are necessary, so during sessions of Congress the na-
tional president must spend a part of her time at Legislative head-
quarters. The annual meetings of the National Temperance Council
and the National Legislative Conference call several general officers
to the capital city. Twenty-seven organizations interested in pro-
hibition progress and legislation are represented in these meetings.
Another important file at the Washington, D. C, headquarters,
which since 1918, the national Legislative superintendent assiduously
has kept up-to-date, is one giving the name and voting record of each
member of Congress. The vote "Aye" or "No" on all prohibition
measures for the last seven years can be ascertained. No member can
escape his record.
Since women became voters, letters of inquiry from women leaders
in forty-eight states have kept the headquarters force busy. Women
keenly alive to the responsibility of the ballot want to know the stand-
ing of Congressmen seeking re-election. "What has he done to pro-
mote prohibition, the welfare of children, and measures of special im-
portance to v/omen and the protecting of the home?" are some of the
questions asked. Evenings are spent looking up records. "On the
whole," says Mrs. Yost, "there is a gradual increase in the number
in the House and Senate who can be depended on not only to vote
right, but actively to assist in promoting a pending bill for the better
enforcement of prohibition law. In the first session of the Sixtj'-eighth
Congress a goodly number who always have voted wet, gave active
assistance in procuring the passage of additional prohibition law en-
forcement measures. Men and women holding responsible positions
write the Legislative superintendent that they highly value The Wash-
ington Letter that appears weekly in The Union Signal because the
news given is 'condensed, interesting and accurate.' "
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Legislative Achievements
For the benefit of a host of inquirers, Mrs. Yost published, at
the earliest opportunity, a pamphlet entitled, "Twenty Years of Pro-
hibition Legislation by the United States Congress". In an interview,
Mrs. Yost said most earnestly, ''I was amazed to find such a splendid
record of Federal legislation. It was a great revelation — even to me.
It reads like a romance! During a period of twenty-three years, there
were only three years in which prohibition legislation has not been
enacted. There has been a gradual growth of prohibition sentiment."
This pamphlet giving a review of Federal legislation during twenty
years against the legalized liquor trafHc includes the following laws:
"In 1901, saloons in the army prohibited; in 1902, prohibition in
certain Pacific ocean islands; beginning with 1903, recreation buildings
provided for army as substitutes for saloons; in 1903, saloons prohibited
in the nation's Capitol building; in 1903, prohibition at immigrant
stations; in 1904, beer halls suppressed in state and territorial soldiers'
homes; in 1906, suppression of canteens in national soldiers' homes;
in 1906, prohibition for the Indian sections of Oklahoma; in 1906,
large appropriations for the suppression of the traffic among Indians;
in 1906, internal revenue amendments to assist in prosecutions of anti-
liquor laws; in 1906, prohibition in Arizona and New Mexico enabling
acts; in 1907, prohibition zones created; in 1908, use of mails for
carrying intoxicating liquors prohibited; in 1908; an appropriation by
the Congress of $6000.00, and a code of laws adopted to aid in the
suppression and regulation of the liquor traffic among the natives of
Alaska; in 1909, Mississippi River jurisdiction; in 1911 and 1913,
appropriations for international congresses against alcoholism; in 1913,
famous interstate shipping law; in 1914, penalty for intemperance in
the army; in 1917, voting code for Alaska; in 1917, prohibition for
Porto Rico; in 1917, prohibition for the nation's capital; in 1917,
anti-advertising and bone dry law; on April 6, 1917, prohibition as
war legislation; in May, 1917, President authorized to establish zones;
September 10, 1917, Congress prohibits use of foods for malt and
vinous liquors; in 1917, war prohibition for Hawaii; November 21,
1918, war prohibition for the nation; in 1917, submission of the pro-
hibition amendment. In the midst of war legislation the Senate of The
United States received from its Judiciary Committee a favorable re-
port recommending passage of the resolution providing for National
Constitutional Prohibition and by a vote of 65 to 20 it was passed
109
Women Torc h- b barer s
August 1, 1917. The House adopted the resolution with amendments
December 17, 1917, by more than the necessary two- thirds majority,
the vote being 282 for and 126 against. The following day the Senate
concurred in the House amendments and the famous joint resolution
was promptly transmitted to the states for ratification.
"Ratification by fifteen states was secured during 191.8. Beginning
January 2, 1919, thirty additional states ratified by February 25,
making forty-five in all ratifying the Eighteenth Amendment. Con-
necticut, Rhode Island and New Jersey failed to ratify.
"On January 16, 1919, ratification day, the thirty-sixth state rati-
fied, making the required number, and thus according to the amend-
ment itself, national prohibition became operative at midnight, Jan-
uary 16, 1920.
"On July 22, 1920, the prohibition enforcement bill passed the
House of Representatives after two months' consideration, by a vote
of 287 to 100, and passed the Senate September 5, without a record
vote. The bill was sent to conference and differences were settled,
and on October 15, it was signed by the President of the Senate and
the Speaker of the House, and transmitted to the President the fol-
lowing day.. On October 27, the President vetoed the bill. By one
of the swiftest and most decisive votes in the history of Congress the
bill was passed over the President's veto and, therefore, became a law.
The bill covered the whole subject of enforcement for both war time
and constitutional prohibition and defined intoxicating liquors as any
beverage containing more than one half of one percentum of alcohol
by volume. This closed another act in the long struggle for the
victory of a great principle.
"On November 18, 1921, the Willis-Campbell bill was .passed.
The main provisions of the bill are the prohibition of the use of beer
or malt liquors for medical purposes, the extension of prohibition to
Hawaii and the Virgin Islands, prohibition of the prescription of more
than one-fourth of one gallon of vinous liquors within ten days and
the prohibition of more than 100 prescriptions to a physician in three
months, unless some extraordinary reason is given, and stops irnporta-
tion of spirituous and vinous liquors until the present supply is not
sufficient to supply the current needs for non-beverage uses, and pre-
vents search and seizure of a private dwelling without a search war-
rant.
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Legislative Achievements
"March 13, 1924, United States-Great Britain Treaty: The
United States-Great Britain treaty to cope with the rum smuggling
problem was ratified by the United States Senate, March 13, 1924,
by a vote of 61 to 7. The treaty had the signatures of Secretary
Hughes and the British Ambassador, Mr. Geddes, on January 24.
This treaty has somewhat inaccurately been referred to as the twelve-
mile limit agreement. The fact is, no specific limit is placed. Under
the terms of the treaty, any ship suspected of smuggling liquor under
the British flag would be liable to search and seizure if intercepted
within an hour's sailing distance from shore, the speed of the ship be-
ing the measure. It has been estimated that this averages about 12
miles, though in the case of faster ships, the zone of possible seizure
might be much broader; the estimate led to naming it the 12-mile
treaty.
"In reciprocity, the agreement grants British ships the right to
carry sealed stores of ship liquors within American waters for use on
the return voyage. The question has been raised whether this is prac-
tical under a recent Supreme Court decision, but it was possible to
secure this agreement with Great Britain only by writing it into the
treaty and taking a chance on its interpretation by the court."
Ill
CHAPTER VI
Patriotism and War Prohibition
Fifty years ago, the "call" of the Woman's Christian Temperance
Union was, in reality, a "call to the colors." "For Native Land," was in-
cluded in the winning rally-cry of these women patriots as they sought
the annihilation of the greatest enemy that imperiled the home and the
nation. They reverenced their country's flag "with its red for love;
its white for law, and its blue for the hope that our fathers saw,
of a larger liberty," and they saw this symbol of a great nation floating
over legalized breweries and distilleries. With invincible determina-
tion the white ribboners joined hands for the destruction of these un-
American instftutions, and were at the front in purifying Old Glory
from the stains of the liquor traffic. The leaders who dared, and
scores of the rank and file were "minute" women, bravely voicing the
danger that confronted the republic.
In 1883, many of the saddened women of the "solid south" re-
sponded to the loving impact of the white ribbon women of the north.
In the civil war, these southern women had suflfered the loss of homes,
husbands and sons. The story of their enlistment in the peaceful, non-
sectional war that was to save their homes, husbands and sons, already
has been told. The "solid south" became "solid" for prohibition.
The women who were God's messengers in helping to bring together
the embittered sections of the United States, were staunch generals
in the army of peace. Their guns were ballots, their bullets were
ideas. Their message was both religious and patriotic.
In 1887, for the first time, the National Woman's Christian Tem-
perance Union convened south of the Mason and Dixon's line — in
Nashville, Tennessee. As Frances Willard greeted this assembly of
delegates from the north, south, east and west, with every southern
state represented, she told of the "tugging at her heart" when she
first saw the ocean, the Alps, St. Peters at Rome, and the city of
Jerusalem, and fervently said: "At this hour I am in the presence of
one of God's mightiest spectacles of the moral sublime, and it is too
great for me — it is high, I cannot attain unto it. For today the Na-
tional Woman's Christian Temperance Union has been made welcome
in the conservative metropolis of southern education, the home of
Mrs. President Polk and the vicinity of Andrew Jackson's 'Hermitage.'
112
Patriotism and War Prohibition
There is a spirit in Nashville's air today that makes of every breath
a sacred inspiration. The people here may not know it, but history
will know, that since this city was founded on the banks of the Cum-
berland, no assembly of a significance so far-reaching has ever before
been convened within its borders. Here, side by side, sit the blue and
the gray. Prohibition first of all is the fixed point whence we cal-
culate all others — no saloon in politics or law, no sectionalism in law
or politics, no sex in citizenship, but liberty, equality, fraternity in
politics and law now and forever more. When in all historj.- were
such matchless issues espoused?
"The women who uniformed their sons in southern gray and said,
like the Spartan mother of old, 'Come ye as conquerers, or come ye
no more,' are here tonight with those women who belted northern
swords upon their boys in blue with words as pitiful, as brave. The
women who embroidered stars and stripes upon the blessed flag that
symbolized their love and faith today have only gentle words for those
who decked their 'bonny flag of stars and bars' with tenderness as true
and faith as fervent. What hath God wrought? Surely a winsome
thing is the human heart. The bloodless warfare of today, where wom-
en share the field with men, makes us forget the past.
'O veterans of the Blue and Gray, who fought on southern field
The purposes of God are true. His judgment stands revealed;
The pangs of war have rent the veil, and lo His high decree,
One heart, one hope, one destiny, one flag from sea to sea.'
"When the troops were mustered out in 1864 we little dreamed
that just ten years later we should be together in line of battle, but
behold — here are the women who went to the polls pleading with
voters to do the right in Michigan and Oregon, side by side with
those who went in Tennessee and Texas, The south is 'solid' still,
but it is for home protection; the 'free ballot and fair count' have
come, but it is through local option contests; the northern and the
southern heart are fired alike, but it is by the ringing bugle blast of
'Prohibition.' "
In the year 1917, a state of war between the United States and
the imperial German government was declared. The National Wom-
an's Christian Temperance seized the tragic opportunity for service.
Five hundred thousand white ribboners made articulate the patriotism
of their organization. Many of the leaders attended the extraordinary
113
Women Torch-bearers
session of the Sixty-fifth Congress which opened April 2, 1917 and
was formally addressed by President Wilson. A resolution declaring
the United States at war with Germany was passed in the Senate
(82-6) ; and in the House (373-50).
On April 4, after the war resolution had been adopted, Senator
Sheppard introduced as a vital war measure, a resolution calling
for an amendment to the Federal Constitution. He declared that the
adoption of this amendment would be a measure of preparedness as
"prohibition is necessary to the efficiency of our man power and conser-
vation of our resources." The mothers of the country, so many of
them in the W. C. T. U., were saddened but heroic. An unspoken
cry, an inarticulate prayer, went up from every home. There was an
out-reaching response in the heart of the national president, Anna Gor-
don, as she sent broadcast immediately after Congressional action, this
significant call:
"Our Woman's Christian Temperance Union has been a foremost
factor in educational work for peace and international arbitration, but
we are loyal daughters of our country and we are face to face with war.
We shall meet the situation with sublime courage, with Christian
optimism and with the self sacrifice of the patriot. Let us be worthy
of Frances Willard's characterization of our organization: 'There
were never such women as our white-ribboners, so large hearted, so
generous, such patriots, such Christians.' Let us give to our soldiers
and sailors our best service. We are fortunate at this critical hour to
have in both Senate and House of the United States Congress, many
strong prohibition friends. Prohibition, as a war measure, will be vig-
orously pushed by the National W. C. T. U., as well as by other tem-
perance agencies centered in Washington. Already, our friends in
Congress are considering how they can best safeguard our boys. The
prohibition program of this extraordinary session of the Sixty-fifth
Congress ought to fully meet the ardent, prayerful hope of mothers whose
boys may soon be subjected to the awful fortunes of war. The enact-
ments of this Congress called to deal with war measures, should be
in accord with the mighty progress of public sentiment in favor of a sober
nation — a sentiment which today is insistently calling for national
prohibition." The instant enthusiastic response to Miss Gordon's
call was the wide-spread adoption of the slogan: "Every white
ribboner, a prohibition patriot."
114
Patriotism and War Prohibition
The National W. C. T. U. co-operated with government plans for
women's war service, and were members of the advisory committee of
the Woman's Committee of the Council of National Defense, of which
Dr. Anna Howard Shaw was appointed chairman, and of the advisory
committee of the Women's Liberty Loan Committee. They were also
members of the National Temperance Council, the United Committee
on War Temperance Activities in the Army and Navy, the National
Legislative Conference, and the Commission of Nineteen, on National
Constitutional Prohibition. A magic increase in the spirit of co-
operation was shown in the organization of the United Committee
on War Temperance Activities in the Army and Navy. In this coming
together of the mighty forces of temperance and philanthropy rep-
resenting also leaders in the church, eighteen noble bodies were
patriotically united. The president of the National W. C. T. U. was
elected vice-chairman of this responsible committee. Each society
was given its special work, and a budget of one hundred thousand
dollars supplied the funds, each society administering its own war
budget.
The stupendous task of planning the war activities of the
National W. C. T. U. was valiantly undertaken by the National
W. C. T. U. War Work Committee. This committee consisted of the
national general ofiEicers, and six National W .C. T. U. superintendents,
whose departments were closely related to the activities occasioned by
the war. They were: Margaret Dj^e Ellis, of Washington, D. C,
superintendent of the department of Legislation: Ella Hoover
Thacher, superintendent of the department of Soldiers and Sailors;
Leila M. Sewall, superintendent of the Flower Mission and Relief
Work; Mary E. Brown, superintendent of the department of Moral
Education; Lucia F. Additon, superintendent of the department of
Temperance and Labor; Ella Black, superintendent of the department
of Foreign Speaking People.
The burden of decision necessarily rested upon the three resident
general ofScers, the national president, Anna A. Gordon, the correspond-
ing secretary, Frances P. Parks, and the treasurer, Margaret C. Munns,
The organization owes much to Mrs. Parks' initiative and daily sys-
tematic supervision of the committee's plans and problems. The ma-
chinery of the National W. C. T. U. department of Work Among
Soldiers and Sailors was especially adapted to service along Red Cross
115
Women Torc h - b e arer s
lines and for years had been mobilized for duty of this nature. As
the liquor and vice interests had established themselves near military-
centers, all good citizens in the vicinity of recruiting stations and
mobilization and training camps were urged by the W. C. T. U. to
see that the soldiers were not subjected to temptation.
For thirty years the superintendent of the department of work
for Soldiers and Sailors, Ella Hoover Thacher, had been visiting
naval training stations and forts and holding gospel temperance meet-
ings with the men. As she again visited these military stations she
found her knowledge of conditions and friendly acquaintance with
military and navy officers most helpful in the promotion of war
activities.
The work for soldiers, sailors and marines and for general relief
work was standardized by Red Cross rules. Mrs. Thacher, through
her state associates, had her special plans of work well in
hand. This included purchasing electric fans, furnishing fruit
and delicacies for army-base-hospitals, social welfare work and
activities in the army training camp and mobilization centers, serv-
ing coffee and doughnuts or cake and lemonade to soldiers and sailors
as they entrained, and giving to each a copy of the "Soldiers Temper-
ance Songster" and a total abstinence pledge-card. The co-operation
of women and men in all the churches, especially in the vicinity of
the camps, was sought.
In 1918, on the resignation of Mrs. Thacher as national super-
intendent, Mrs. Richmond Pearson Hobson, upon the earnest solicita-
tion of the National W. C. T. U. officers, loyally assumed the duties
of national superintendent. In this position she met with marked
success and was aided by her distinguished husband, Captain Hobson,
the hero of the "Merrimac."
The prohibition of the liquor traffic in the District of Columbia
went into efifect September 8, 1917. This caused great rejoicing
among the mothers of the country, for hundreds of their soldier and
sailor sons thus escaped the alluring temptation of the saloon.
The W. C. T. U. of Washington, D. C, with the aid of the Dis-
trict W. C. T. U., Mrs. Emma Sanford Shelton, president, and the
generous gifts and supervision of Mrs. Thacher, opened a recreation
and rest room which was gratefully enjoyed by sailors from the near-
by forts and soldiers from military posts. The following incident
116
Patriotism and War Prohibition
illustrating the efforts of a former United States President to
protect the young recruits of the Civil War from drink often was
told in that rest room. When Abraham Lincoln, Commander-in-
chief of the army and navy, happened to see in the streets of the
capital city, a young soldier starting to enter a corner saloon, he
laid on his shoulder a firm, detaining hand. The lad, looking up,
saw a kind fatherly face, and recognized at once, the President of
the United States whose framed picture held an honored place in
his country home. *'I never want to see the United States uniform
going into a place like that," said Mr. Lincoln, as he gently led the
young soldier into safer surroundings. At a meeting of veterans
many years later, an old man in a faded uniform told this story, and
said, "I was that soldier boy, and it was Abraham Lincoln who saved
me from the curse of drink. The thought of that noble, sorrowful,
fatherly face has ever been with me."
The patriotic service of the W. C. T. U. included successful
educational and social work in camps, in reconstruction hospitals, the
sending of motor ambulances, motor field kitchens, providing hostess
houses, hospital mothers, stereomotorgraphs, cheer-up books for the
blind, comfort kits, knitted articles, hospital delicacies and flowers
lavishly contributed; it supplied speakers in camp, literature for the
soldiers, sailors and marines, and slides showing the scientific value
of total abstinence.
It is impossible to depict in detail the stirring patriotic scenes
enacted; for every state W. C. T. U. was alive to its opportunity.
In their local and special meetings, while carrying out their schedule,
W. C. T. U. programs, groups of white ribboners all over the coun-
try made comfort bags and hospital and Red Cross supplies. The
constant contact of white ribboners of twenty thousand local unions
with the members of women's clubs, missionary and patriotic societies
and leaders of community centers was mutually helpful.
In sixteen states, in response to the government's needs, miracle
cities sprang up. In a peculiar way, white ribboners were interested
in the training camps to which the citizen soldiers of their own state
reported for duty. Never in the history of the world has any gov-
ernment provided so carefully for the all-round welfare of the en-
listed man. The war department recognized the necessity of protect-
ing them from alcohol, gambling and vice, and "white zones" relent-
117
Women Torc h - b barer s
lessly enclosed every camp and cantonment. The comprehensive scheme
by the Committee of Protective Work for Girls, included the appoint-
ment of policewomen w^ho w^orked under direction of the city police.
The National W. C. T. U. promoted the plan for the care of girls
issued through the Department of Health and Recreation of the
Woman's Committee of the Council of National Defense. The police-
women helped in the solution of the tremendous problems growing out
of the mobilization of a million and a half of men in more than
eighty training camps. The spirit of youth, combined with patriotic
fervor and a disposition to hero worship, made an appalling problem
in communities frequented by men from nearby camps. The police-
woman patriot, with her large sympathy, clear understanding of girl-
hood danger, her sisterly care backed by authority, was enabled to
protect the girls ignorant of danger and, whether desired or not, to
give help.
Plans issued by the Woman's Section, Social Hygiene Division ot
the Committee on Training Camp Activities, received the support of
the W. C. T. U. Whether the approach was made through the
patriotic appeal, the religious motive, or scientific fact, the common goal,
a "white life for two" had long been familiar to the W. C. T. U.
Properly chaperoned entertainments, with music and refreshments,
were given by the young people. White ribbon girls by setting a
high social standard, exerted a restraining influence over those young
women who foolishly failed to observe toward men in uniform the
proprieties that prevail in times of peace. "Keep the home fires burn-
ing" was one of the most popular songs rendered in the camps by the
Young People's Branch of the W. C. T. U.
The example of the National W. C. T. U. corresponding secre-
tary in sending out helpful war bulletins, was followed by some of
the state presidents. "Patriotism of a practical type has characterized
the W. C. T. U. from north to south, from east to west," said Mrs.
Parks in one of her able documents. "It is illustrated from the Old
Bay State to the Land of the Golden Gate, from the Canadian border
to the Gulf of Mexico. The patriotic service of the W. C. T, U.
is so attractive and appealing and so carefully co-ordinated that men,
as well as women, are flocking to our aid with money and personal
help. The International Film Company has taken pictures of some
of our large Comfort Bag Shops. White ribboners are sending out
118
The Georgia W C.
T. U. War Service
Flag. The Stars
represent sons, hus-
bands and brothers
of white ribboners.
Medal presented by the French gov-
ernment, in gratitude for distinguished
W. C. T. U. war relief service, to Miss
Leila M. Sewall
National W. C. T. U. Ambulance used in
war service in France.
Patriotism and War Prohibition
hundreds of thousands of these indispensable articles. Conspicuous
work at Fort Sheridan and the Great Lakes Naval Training station
is being accomplished." Many mothers were interested in holding up
for their sons and other soldiers a high standard of purity. It was the
patriotic white ribbon mother of college sons who wrote the clean
life pledge, which was signed by four thousand men of the First Re-
serve Officers Training Camp at Fort Sheridan. It reads as follows:
"1. We undertake to maintain our part of the war free from
hatred, wanton brutality or graft, true to the American purpose and
ideals.
"2. Aware of the temptation incident to camp life and the moral
and social wreckage involved, we covenant together to live the clean
life and to seek to establish the American uniform as a symbol and
guarantee of real manhood."
"A mother's a mother, the world over." The appeal for war
relief took fast hold on the hearts of "organized mother love,"
Miss Willard's name for the W. C. T. U. In every cry for help from
the famished and orphaned children of Europe, each true woman
heard the cry of her own child. Nearly three thousand father-
less children were adopted at a cost of over one hundred thousand
dollars. White ribbon women also made eighty-one thousand, five
hundred garments, costing approximately six thousand dollars. These
were "turned in" through the committee, Children of the Frontier,
and also through the Red Cross. In their relief work W. C. T. U.
women also included those at home. In all these activities there was
co-operation with the folloviang agencies: Home Service of the Red
Cross, Y. M. C. A., Y. W. C. A., War Camp Community Service,
Women's Committee of the Council of National Defense, Fatherless
Children of France, and the Belgium and French Relief Society. In
practically every state flowers in abundance were distributed in the
base hospitals and among the families in service. Miss Leila M.
Sewall, of Boston, National W. C. T. U. superintendent of Flower
Mission and Relief Work, who promoted the adoption of French
orphans, received from the French government, in gratitude for dis-
tinguished service, the artistically inscribed medal pictured on another
page.
At the beginning of the World War, an army of workers, a large
number of them women, worked at high pressure to turn out the
119
Women Torc h - b barer s
war orders for the Allies. The entrance of the United States into
the conflict increased the demand for women workers, many of
whom received sisterly advice and aid through the W. C. T. U.
department of Women in Industry. Over one million women were
employed in essential war industrial Work. The Committee on Women
in Industry of the Council of National Defense recomm.ended cer-
tain standards for government contracts which would prevent un-
just profiteering. The W. C. T. U. materially aided in pushing the
suggestions of the committee. The recommendations for the pro-
tection of women and children included tenement house work, child
labor, safeguarding of mothers, wages, hours of work, seats, extra
heavy and hazardous occupations, heavy lifting and exposure to heat
and cold. It was immensely gratifying to the Committee of Women in
Industry to receive assurance from the Secretary of War that all army
clothing produced under government contract should be made under
clean and sanitary conditions. It was also encouraging to have the
chairman of the Department of Women in Industry, Miss Agnes
Nestt>r, so honored. In co-operation with the National Council of
women, the National W. C. T. U. prepared to engage in definite work
under the Labor Department of the Federal government which ar-
ranged for military and general relief and for the establishment and
maintenance of employment bureaus for women who were obliged to
take the places of men called to the colors.
"The woman touch," said Frances Willard, "is to brighten every
nook and corner of the earth." Since people of almost every "nook
and corner" have come to America, the land of opportunity, the
"melting pot" of the nations, it was the "woman touch" through the
W. C. T. U. department of Americanization, with Mrs. Ella B. Black,
superintendent, that expedited throughout the war, the contact with
foreign speaking people, especially with the wives and mothers. In
all the states having a large percentage of foreigners, the state presi-
dents, and the state superintendents of Americanization actively parti-
cipated in the program for the beneficent "woman touch."
With a large city of the middle west as the central point of service,
the state in which it was located, with eighty-seven thousand, five
hundred and forty-seven foreign-born women, among them Italians,
Bohemians,^ Roumanians, Hungarians, Syrians, Poles, Croatians, Greeks,
Swedes and Chinese, adopted as its watchward, "America First."
120
Patriotism and War Prohibition
Already, the city had opened Americanization headquarters with a
salaried worker. Great emphasis was laid on the education of both
the new Americans themselves and volunteer workers on their behalf
who were trained to proceed carefully and intelligently. The ini-
tiative taken by the W. C. T. U. of the metropolis led other organiza-
tions to engage in similar efforts on a co-operative basis, the W. C. T. U.
superintendent acting as chairman of the visiting committee. In
New York City, thickly populated with foreigners, a paid worker
labored among the Greeks and emigrants from the region of the Bal-
kans, doing humanitarian. Christian service. The foreign-born women
of New York City numbered over a million. The workers persuaded
both men and women to invest their beer money in liberty bonds and
war-savings stamps. Foreigners were prevailed upon to take out
naturalization papers. The chief cause of poverty was found to be
not a low wage, but expenditure of money for liquor. A survey of
twenty-two states was made at this time. In the population of these
commonwealths, there were 2,945,615 foreign-born white women, also
Spanish, Japanese, Italian, French, Slav, Polish, Hungarian, Lithuanian,
Slovak, Croatian, Russian, Greek, Swedish, Jewish, Albanian, Syrian,
Bohemian, Scandinavian and Mexican. About thirty-eight per cent
spoke English. When the battle-cry of democracy sounded, call-
ing the men of America to arms, it found their wives and daugh-
ters also ready and longing to do their bit. "How can I help?" was
the cry on every side. Many entertainments were held for the benefit
of soldiers and sailors. Libraries and writing facilities were pro-
vided in recreation rooms. Christmas packages, scrap-books, candy,
flowers, victrolas, records and "smilage" books, found their way to
the boys. Hospital cots were equipped and large sums of money dona-
ted. Books were contributed to the number of nearly one hundred and
four thousand, and nearly 168,000 magazines. "Save, Serve, Sacrifice"
and "Bar the barley from the bar and bake it into bread," became the
rally-cries as the problems connected with the high cost of living con-
fronted the nation.
Flashing electric signs gave to the public the slogan, "Food will
Decide the War." Women in the grain producing states considered
themselves responsible for a large grain crop. In Kansas, the women
farmers, including W. C. T. U. women, early organized. There
was a great demand for women as farm hands. The liquor traffic
121
Women Torch-bearers
annually destroyed enough grain and fruit to feed starving millions —
turning it into poison that was corrupting the life of the nation.
The W. C. T. U. women made known the futility of this waste of grain
and fruit. Sixty-eight million, four-hundred-thousand bushels of grain
were used each year in the production of beer. Bread or beer was
the vital issue. The W. C. T. U. sought the protection of soldiers
and civilians and not of beer. British brewers were well named food
destroyers.
The National W. C. T. U. president in an appeal to the women said,
"We patriotically observe seven wheatless, fourteen meatless, and
twenty-one wasteless meals each week. We have purchased liberty
bonds. We knit and sew, we conserve and preserve. We dry and can,
we waste not a slice of bread nor a grain of sugar. We eat war
bread, we follow the excellent advice, 'Use corn-meal, common sense,
and calm.' The six million loaves of bread we send to our Allies
are saved in this way. Why do the powers that be continue to waste
foodstufFs daily in the manufacture of beer? The amount saved, if
breweries could be eliminated, would send to our enlisted men and
the Allies six million loaves of bread?" Foreign-speaking wives
and mothers appealed to the President at Washington for aid. They'
plead for food for their children. Miss Jeannette Rankin, Congress-
woman, advocated their cause. They said, "We don't know much about
politics, but we know we can't get food. If the government wants
to take our sons to be killed in France, it must pass the food bill
so we may feed the children left at home or our young men will go
to war only over our dead bodies." An investigator visited fifty
schools of the east side of New York City, with an average attend-
ance of one thousand, two-hundred children, and forty-three principals
told her the children were falling behind in their lessons because they
were under-nourished and had as a result become a prey to disease.
The following memorial in favor of food conservation, which
was also a vital factor in securing war prohibition, was addressed to
the Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, and signed and en-
dorsed by 6,000,000 women. The assembling of this memorial was
an herculean task — directed by Mrs. Lenna Lowe Yost at the Wash-
ington Legislative headquarters. The memorial read:
122
Patriotism and War Prohibition
"To Hon. Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States :
"Believing that the women of the United States are loyally doing
their utmost in our national crisis to carry out all government plans
for the conservation of food; and
"Realizing that there is still an alarming waste of food stuffs in
the production of malt and vinous liquors ;
"We, in behalf of mothers, wives and daughters, sisters and sweet-
hearts of enlisted men, appeal to you, as Commander-in-Chief of the
Army and Navy, to prohibit the further waste of these food-stufEs in
the production of malt and vinous liquors during the period of the
war."
The document embossed on parchment in handsome book form was
presented to President Wilson with the following letter from the
National W. C. T. U., the promoters of the conservation petition:
"March 1, 1918
"National W. C. T. U. Headquarters,
"Washington, D. C.
"Mr. President:
"We deeply appreciate the privilege of presenting to you a memorial
representing six million women patriots of the United States.
"We believe this is the first petition in the history of our country
in which all leading organizations of women, civic, fraternal, social,
patriotic, and religiouS; as well as hundreds of notable women in the
educational and official life of the republic have united. It comes to
you, Mr. President, as the voice of the womanhood of America. It
comes to you, our Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, at the
time of an appalling crisis which peculiarly concerns the mothers of the
nation.
"Educated by the government to believe that food will win the
war, these women whose magnificent war service and sacrifice every-
where are attested, plead for the maximum conservation of food
materials for the duration of the war. They earnestly and respectfully
ask that all food materials now used in the production of malt liquors
be devoted to food supplies desperately needed by our army and the
armies of the Allies.
"On behalf of these six million petitioners, Mr. President, we thanJt
you for the steps in this direction already taken, and we beg your
123
Women Torc h- b e arer s
early and favorable consideration of the prayer of the memorial we have
the honor to place in your hands.
"(Signed) Anna A. Gordon,
"President of the National W. C. T. U."
White-ribboners were keenly alive to the strategy of the situation.
While warring against crowned autocracy they also were gaining
ground in their fight to annihilate King Alcohol. Their great petition to
President Wilson aroused favorable public opinion. The grain Congress
said would henceforth be fed to the men and not to the breweries and
distilleries. If not wasted in time of war why wasted and turned into
poison, in time of peace?
It was the famous psychologist, Professor William T. James, of
Harvard College, who said that people seldom unlocked their hidden
abilities. At the psychological moment every W. C. T. U. woman used
the key that unlocked all the resources of her devoted motherhood.
The boys must be fed! War prohibition must come! Mother-love in
determined action is irresistible. White-ribboners worked at white
heat.
A white-ribboner originated the slogan : "Nail the flag to your hoe,
your spade, your rake, and enter heart and soul into the food grow-
ing movement." In great patriotic parades many people were seen
carrying over their shoulders a hoe with the flag tied to it, fit emblem
surely of practical patriotism. W. C. T. U. women turned waste
land, vacant lots, yes, and even back yards into patches for cultivation
of potatoes and other foodstuffs. In one year, three hundred girls
enrolled in canning clubs and their net saving amounted to $38,000.
Thousands of college girls spent their summer vacations on this tj^pe
of work. Hundreds of cans of dehydrated vegetables, and hundreds
of packages containing jellies, marmalade and grape juice, were sent to
the front. To these were added, games, puzzles, recent magazines,
scrap-books, song-books and home papers for home troops. This was
the "woman touch" that kept up the morale of the homesick bo5's, for
hidden among the packages were loving letters from mothers, wives,
sisters, and sweethearts.
At harvest time, the popular slogan became "Not one ear of corn
for whisky, but millions for food for the hungry men, women and
children of America and Europe." William Jennings Bryan asserted:
"We cannot afford to allow $145,000,000 worth of grain to be con-
124
Patriotism and War Prohibition
verted into alcohol when it is needed for bread. To urge an increase
in garden space and yet be indifferent to the conversion of the products
of our prairies into alcohol would be saving at the spigot and wasting
at the bunghole." Rev. Charles Stelzle, field secretary of the Federal
Council of Churches, said that the toil of 75,000 farmers for six
months was required to furnish the grain used to make the country's
liquor. He declared that the 300,000 persons in America who serve
the liquor traffic were needed for the legitimate work of the country.
It was declared authoritatively, that Great Britain would not at this
time (1917) have been facing a near famine if in 1914 she had prohi-
bited in the manufacture of alcoholic liquors, the use of grains.
In the interests of food conservation even Mother Goose was "Hoov-
erized" — much, to the delight of the children, who as they recited
the following lines awakened to patriotic action many carnal-minded
epicures :
"Old King Cole was a merry old soul, and a merry old
soul was he.
To help conserve food, he dined as a rule on corn-
bread and milk, don't you see?"
"Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden
grow ?
Beans and peas and spinach, too, with canned goods all
in a row."
The intensity and anxiety of these war-beclouded days were re-
lieved by the buoyancy and loyalty of the young people and the boys
and girls of the Loyal Temperance Legion. As, on public occasions,
they gave the salute to their nation's flag each one earnestly said:
"I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the republic for which it stands,
one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
Eager to express their youthful patriotism children repeated in
concert: "It's your flag and my flag, and oh, how much it holds,
your land and my land, secure within its folds. Your heart and my
heart, beat quicker at the sight. Sun-kissed and wind-tossed, red, blue
and white. The one flag the great flag, the flag for me and you — ■
glorified all else beside, the red and white and blue." Often, older
people as well as children, gave another interpretation of the salute
to the flag in which foreign speaking children joined: "I give my
125
Women Torc h - b barer s
head, my heart, and this right hand for God and home and native
land. One country — one language — one God, to whom be praise for-
evermore." Little Dorothy, six years old, was told one day at school
that she must salute the flag. That noon she was almost an hour late
in reaching home for lunch. "Dorothy, where have you been," said her
mother, as the child came up the front walk. "Teacher said we must
salute the flag" replied the small patriot, "and I have been saluting
them all the way home, because there's one on pretty nearly every
house!" White-ribbon women were deeply interested in the service
flag whose blue and gold stars represented their sons in the army and
nav}^ — those living and those who had paid the supreme sacrifice. In
hundreds of homes this "child of Old Glory" was seen.
The Georgia W. C. T. U. through its president, Mrs. Leila A. Dil-
lard, with the help of another white-ribboner, made a notable service
flag, eighteen feet long by six feet wide. The stars represent sons,
husbands and brothers of the W. C. T. U. members. A few of the
stars are for nephews, their names being sent in by mother-aunts, and
daughters who did war work are also represented. The design of this
world's service flag is strikingly unique and beautiful, for the magic
initials, 'W. C. T. U., form the background of white, that is studded
with the stars of blue and gold. In the summer of 1919, at Columbus,
Ohio, during the exhibit of the National Woman's Christian Temper-
ance Union at the Methodist Centenary Exposition, this flag from
Georgia revealed to the visitor, the patriotism pervading all the actlvi-
ies of the white-ribbon women.
"Space is nothing to spirit; the deed is outdone by
the doing;
The noblest are reared by example and blossom by
nursery wooing.
Back of the foreguard and leader stands silent, heroic
some other.
And colossal behind the achievement stands meekly that
angel the mother."
In the midst of their conservation work, American women were
deeply stirred by the sufferings of European womanhood. The National
Council of French Women, including one hundred and fifty societies;
the French Union of Woman Suffrage with eighty original groups;
The Society for the Improvement of Woman's Lot; the Fraternal
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Patriotism and War Prohibition
Union of Women, representing more than a million French women,
appealed to the women of all countries to unite with them in denounc-
ing the infamous and sinister attack on the common life of humanity
through its womankind. This appeal met with a warm response in
the heart of every W. C. T. U. woman, A petition to the Peace Coun-
cil asking for the punishment of men who had violated the persons of
women under their power and asking that the women so outraged
should be considered "wounded in war" was circulated. The national
vice-president, Mrs. Ella A. Boole, earnestly promoted by addresses
and correspondence the circulation of this petition, co-operating with
the Committee of Protection of Women Under International Law.
For her masterly and unique service, Anna Howard Shaw was the
recipient of a governmental decoration. Later, at a W. C. T. U. lunch-
eon where she was the guest of honor, she called attention to the hand-
some medal from the government that she was wearing and said most
unassumingly, that it was a decoration to which every white ribboner
and every woman who helped in the national defense had equal claim
with herself. She told with enthusiasm of the loyalty of the women's
societies in following directions so that duplication, overlapping, and
useless war work were prevented. The hope shared with millions of
other women, that she was helping the war that would end war, was
expressed in these eloquent words:
"The mothers of this country, the mothers of men, build their own
lives into the lives of their sons until they reach manhood — and how
much is embraced in that word 'manhood!' The mother looking into
the eyes of the young man whom she held in her arms as a tiny
helpless baby, knows that she beholds the most marvelous thing in all
the world; that in all the universe of God there is nothing more won-
derful than a strong-limbed, clean-hearted, clear-brained young man,
just as he stands on the border-line of life, and in an hour his country
calls him out, and in another hour he may lie dead. When she looks
into his face, that woman knows the meaning of war. That is the
'bit' our country asks of its women. A whole lifetime of service, of
love, and then it is all swept away from her, and from him, and
yet they wonder that women do not want war. We do not v/ant
war — we do not want war — and the reason you and I want to sec
this war brought to a finish, if it takes the last man and the last
loaf of bread, and the last woman in order to do it, is because we
127
Women Torc h - b barer s
hope after it is done there will be no more war. The men have laid
down their lives that this world may be a safe place and that men
and women may know the meaning of democracy, which is that we
are one great family of God. That, and that only, is the ideal of
democracy for which our flag stands."
In closing her address, Dr. Shaw gave this message sent her by
General Pershing — a message expressing appreciation of American
women and their loyalty: "All ranks of the American Expeditionary
Forces unite in heartfelt thanks to the women of America for their
love and their prayers. The patriotism of our incomparable women,
than whom there are not others more noble, shall be our constant
inspiration until the great capital task which has been entrusted to
us shall be accomplished. Accept our best wishes for the coming year
and our firm confidence in our final success."
In 1889, Hon. John D. Long, the Secretary of the Navy, wisely
took alcoholic drink away from the enlisted men. In 1917, Hon.
Josephus Daniels, then Secretary of the Navy, prohibited the use
of alcoholic liquor by officers of the navy, thus making that depart-
ment of the government bone dry. In an interview, Secretary Daniels
being asked to give his reasons for the issuance of the famous "Wine
Mess Order," said :
"Shortly after I had become Secretary, a gentleman came into
the department to plead for the restoration of a young relative of
his who had been dismissed from the navy for intoxication. I showed
him the record which proved that this young officer had not only been
drunk, but had at the same time made a public exhibition of himself.
I explained that there was no course to be pursued but to act firmly
and finally in approving the court-martial which had recommended
the young officer's dismissal. When I made it plain that the young
man must inevitably pay the penalty, this gentleman protested earnestly
and with much feeling, insisted that his young relative had received
injustice at the hands of the navy. 'Now that he is the product of
your system,' said my visitor, 'you have turned him out in disgrace.'
He then went on to tell me the following story. 'I am a Friend, a
Quaker,' he said, 'and the boy's father was a Quaker. When his father
died, he was a little shaver and the lad came into my home and
always has been to me as a son. I never even had so much as a
glass of wine in my home and when the boy left for Annapolis to
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Patriotism and War Prohibition
enter the Naval Academy, he did not know what the taste of liquor
was like. I gave him to the American navy pure-hearted, unsullied,
believing absolutely in the old-fashioned Quaker ideals in which he
had been reared. In the seven years you have had him in the navy,
you gave him wrong ideas about drinking. You taught him that
it was all right for a gentleman to have his toddy. You legalized
the "wine mess." You had a code that made a youth feel that he was
narrow minded if he turned down his glass at the table, but now
that my boy has been ruined by you and your system, the navy kicks
him out and puts a stigma on him.' "
Secretary Daniels, in continuing his story, said: "When this sor-
rowful man went out, I could not throw of? a stinging sense of justice
in his accusation. I realized that the issuing of a 'wine mess order'
meant that it would be resented. If I was at any time tempted not
to take the step, the reflection that every year there came into the
navy hundreds of young men, some of whom might find their undoing
in indulgence, made my duty plain. However, as the days went by,
after the action was taken, the order increasingly won over the ap-
proval of the officers themselves. One of the ablest admirals of tbe
navy, a man whose name is known in naval circles all over the world,
told me that he had never known such a revolution in the navy as
had been brought about by the wine mess order. 'On the very day
that you issued the order,' he said, 'I had stocked up my closet with
the usual wines and liquors as was customary to be used when I
entertained guests on board ship. I did not, therefore, like the order,
but when I first read it, I immediately called the steward and told
him to pack all drinkables up and remove them from the ship. To
me an order is an order. In my long service, whether I liked it or
not, my loyalty to lawful commands has never failed. My own opinion
is that the wine mess order is the wisest thing you have done as
Secretary.' The statement of this admiral is typical of the opinion
of the vast majority of the commissioned personnel of the navy."
In 1917, for the first time in its history, Harvard University gave
its graduates and undergraduates a commencement week free from
the use of champagne and cock-tails. This patriotic act made strong
sentiment for the protection of the boys in camp. Other colleges
took similar action.
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Women Torc h - b barer s
After the armistice, November 11, 1918, a million men in uniform
returned from overseas to resume the duties of civilian life. They
had been protected from drink in the camps and at the front. The
duty and problem that confronted the nation w^as the adequate pro-
tection of these brave men from the enemies at home. The National
W. C. T. U., as one of its after-war relief measures, adopted whole-
heartedly a new "God-child", the Fort Sheridan Reconstruction Hos-
pital. The wounded had started to come home, some with bodies
badly broken. Five thousand of these boys were to be cared for, re-
educated if need be, at this great hospital. The commanding ofKcer
warmly welcomed the W. C. T. U. hospital mother, Mrs. Louise
Chez. Several states made liberal contributions to the Fort Sheridan
Hospital fund. The Young People's Branch assumed responsibility
for "cheer-up" books for blinded soldiers and sailors. The Loyal
Temperance Legion raised a fund to print in Braille a beautiful story
carrying the children's message of good-cheer, to soldiers, sailors and
marines who had lost their sight. Relief work under the Flower
Mission department, for families of soldiers and sailors, continued as
long as necessity demanded. The Iowa W. C. T. U. adopted as one
of its special benevolences the United States Army reconstruction
hospitals at Fort Des Moines with a capacity of three thousand five
hundred beds, with Mrs. Dessa Carleton as the hospital mother. The
"boys" were greatly comforted by these sympathetic, gracious women.
Of the 100,000,000 bushels of grain which each year had been
turned into alcoholic liquors, a large proportion now provided neces-
sary food. A number of distilleries continued making alcohol to find
its way into perfumes, toilet water, bay rum and medicine and in-
dustries where denatured alcohol is used. Revenue records state that
during that fiscal year (1917-1918) nearly 11,000,000 gallons were
shipped to Allies for powder manufacture.
The extraordinary work of the allied temperance philanthropic
organizations brought victory after victory. The Sixty-fifth Congress
prohibited the use after September 8, 1917, of food-products in the
manufacture for beverage purposes of distilled spirits. July 1, 1919,
under the provisions of the war prohibition bill enacted by the Sixty-
fifth Congress and sustained by the Sixty-sixth, in special session, the
Federal government prohibited for the period of the war and of de-
mobilization, the manufacture and sale of alcoholic liquors. It will
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Patriotism and War Prohibition
be recalled that on November 1, 1917, the capital city of our great
country became dry. The long desired goal — National Constitutional
Prohibition — was now almost in sight.
One of the greatest upheavals of the war was the revolt against
alcohol. The value of sobriety in the army, navy, and in aviation,
had been effectively demonstrated.
Throughout the war "Co-operation" had been the key-note of action,
but the National W. C. T. U. while co-operating, did its own work
in its own way; and all its patriotic funds passed through the hands
of the able National W. C. T. U. treasurer, Mrs. Margaret C. Munns.
Harry S. Warner, executive secretary of this United Committee on
War Temperance Activities in the Army and Navy, later said, "The
W. C. T. U. is largely responsible for the splendid work accomplished."
The following facts and figures prepared at National W. C. T. U.
headquarters summarize the magnificent patriotic work the Woman's
Christian Temperance Union accomplished :
Sent to the President at Washington, D. C, petition of 6,000,000
women for war-time prohibition as a conservation measure.
Participated in forty-five successful campaigns for ratification of
the Eighteenth Amendment.
Enrolled ninety per cent of the half million members in the Red
Cross society; seventy-five per cent of the half million members were
workers in Red Cross shops.
Prepared hundreds of thousands of special comforts for men in
service outside the Red Cross. Contributed to the Red Cross for
field kitchens, $41,573; for ambulances, $13,600.
Prepared comfort bags, at the estimated cost of $176,585.
Furnished through the United Committee on War Temperance Ac-
tivities in army and navy, stereomotorgraphs, at the cost of $9,430.
Contributed for hospital tables, electric fans, grafanolas, $3,779.
Co'Operated in every camp community, in war-camp community ser-
vice.
Established and maintained hostess houses, recreation centers and
rest-rooms from Camp Devens, Massachusetts, to Camp Las Casas,
Porto Rico — from Camp Lewis, Washington, to Camp Lee, Virginia.
Extended service of women police officers to camp communities.
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Women Torc h- b barer s
Introduced the hospital mother as a new welfare worker in re-
construction hospitals. Maintained resident hospital mother at Gen-
eral Hospital No. 28, Fort Sheridan, Illinois.
Contributed hospital furnishings and equipment valued at $5,911.
Contributed, through the Young People's Branch, cheer-up books
for use of permanently blind soldiers, sailors and marines at Evergreen
Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, valued at $1,523.
Contributed diet kitchen for Evergreen Hospital, $3,500.
Subscribed for Victory Bonds and Liberty loans.
Adopted 2800 French orphans.
Contributed to Armenian, Serbian, Belgian and other relief funds,
$25,774.
According to James Russell Lowell, democracy in its best sense
is merely the "letting in of light and air." In the hope of helping
to secure a Christian democracy such as Mr. Lowell so well de-
scribed, the National W. C. T. U. carried on its extraordinary war
activities. The exalted spirit of the organization which, from earliest
days, had declared for "the establishment of courts of national and
international arbitration which should banish war from the world,"
is seen in this resolution passed at the forty-fourth annual W. C. T. U.
convention which assembled during war-time, December 2-7, 1917, in
the capital city. It reads: "While we deplore war as wholly evil in
its inception, we yet believe that when it became necessary for our
nation to enter the present world conflict we came in on this high
moral ground, namely: To vindicate the principles of peace and justice
in the life of the world as against selfish and autocratic power and
to set up among the really free and self-governed people of the world
such a concert of purposes and action as shall bring peace and safety
to all nations and make the world itself at last free."
The W. C. T. U. women were now cheerfully meeting the second
test of patriotism — the practice of severe economies in the reconstruc-
tion days. "During the coming years," said the national president, in
1918, "as we traverse the road to the victory of National Constitu-
tional Prohibition, let us heed the words of a seer given to Israel
of old. 'They march everyone on his way, and they break not their
ranks' '*
132
CHAPTER VII .
The Eighteenth Amendment ; Allegiance to the Constitution
The passage of the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution of
the United States, January 16, 1919, was one of the greatest moral
triumphs of history.
It was a twentieth century Declaration of Independence, and
assured to the one hundred and twenty five million men, women and
children of this mighty Republic the guarantees of the United States
Constitution, "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." In cele-
bration of this patriotic event, a United States flag was raised over
a worsted mill. It was made of wool from American sheep, sorted
by an American, carded by an Italian, spun by a Swede, warped by
a German, dressed by an Englishman, drawn in by a Scotchman,
woven by a Belgian, supervised by a Frenchman, inspected by an
American, scoured by an Albanian, dyed by a Turk, examined by an
Irishman, pressed by a Pole; and these loyal workers of foreign birth
were all Americans and sang in unison, "My country 'tis of thee,
sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing." This victory of Federal pro-
hibition, this moral mountain peak, viewed by all the nations of the
earth, is destined to make not only in honored law, but in living reality,
a sober nation and a sober world.
It is a wonderful story — the intensive campaign of the National
Woman's Christian Temperance Union for National Constitutional
Prohibition, and for the steady growth of prohibition areas — state,
county and municipal, throughout the entire republic.
The list of the prohibition states and territories and the dates ot
their prohibition enactments is as follows:
Maine (Constitutional) ....1851 Arizona (Constitutional) ..1915
Kansas (Constitutional) .... 1880 Virginia (Statutory) 1916
N. Dakota (Constitutional) 1889 Colorado (Constitutional) .1916
Oklahoma (Constitutional) 1907 Oregon (Constitutional) ...1916
Georgia (Statutory) 1908 Washington (Statutory) . .1916
N. Carolina (Statutory) 1909 Arkansas (Statutory) 1916
Mississippi (Statutory) 1909 Iowa (Statutory) 1916
Tennessee (Statutory) .. ..1909 Idaho (Constitutional) ....1916
W.Virginia (Constitutional) 1914 South Carolina (Statutory) 1916
Alabama (Statutory) 1915 Nebraska (Constitutional) . . 1917
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Women Torc h - b e arer s
S.Dakota (Constitutional) 1917 Utah (Constitutional) 1919
Dist. Columbia (Statutory) 1917 Ohio (Constitutional) 1919
Alaska (Statutory) 1918 Nevada (Statutory) 1919
Indiana (Statutory) 1918 Wyoming (Constitutional) . . 1920
Michigan (Constitutional) 1918 Kentucky (Constitutional) 1920
New Hampshire (Statutory) 1918 Porto Rico 1918
Montana (Constitutional) 1918 Canal 2k)ne
N. Mexico (Constitutional) 1918 Island of Guam 1918
Texas (Constitutional) 1919 Territory of Hawaii 1918
Florida (Constitutional) ... 1919 Virgin Islands 1919
In the remaining fifteen states much territory had been won tor
prohibition through county or local option elections.
The temperance and church allies have remarked frequently and
emphatically that the systematic work of the W. C. T. U., especially
the laws the organization secured regarding the teaching of scientific
temperance in the public schools, laid the changeless foundation on
which this phenomenal Federal victory was built. In co-operation with
the allies, the W. C. T. U., which in 1875 began its National Con-
stitutional Prohibition campaign, followed the "gleam" which now
brightened their prohibition pathway. What were the steps so brave-
ly taken? ,
On September 10, 1911, Mrs. Lillian M. N. Stevens, then the
revered president of the National W. C. T. U., issued this procla-
mation: "In the name of the World's and National Woman's Christian
Temperance Union, we hereby make this proclamation for a great
crusade to carry the vital truth to the people themselves in all lands,
and through them to place prohibition in the organic law of all nations
and ultimately in the organic law of the world ; and to this high end
we invoke the guidance and blessing of Almighty God and the co-
operation of men and women of all lands who love their fellow men,
and to America, the birthplace of the local, state. National, and
World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union, we hereby proclaim
that within a decade prohibition shall be placed in the Constitution
of the United States; and to this end we call to active co-operation all
temperance, prohibition, religious and philanthropic bodies ; all patriotic,
fraternal and civic associations, and all Americans who love their
country."
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The Eighteenth Amendment
In December of the same year, Congressman Richmond Pearson
Hobson of Alabama, introduced into the Sixty-third Congress, a reso-
lution providing for a referendum to the states on the question of
a prohibition amendment to the United States Constitution. In the
Senate, the measure was ably championed by Senator Morris Sheppard
of Texas. Mammoth mass meetings held in Washington, D. C,
by the W. C. T. U. and other temperance organizations, stirred the
entire nation. "On to Washington" was the cry. In 1914, soon
after Mrs. Stevens, the statesmanlike National W. C. T. U. president,
had been called to her heavenly reward, a hearing before the House
Judiciary Committee occurred at Washington, D. C. Anna Gordon,
acting national president, went to this hearing directly from Mrs.
Stevens' funeral service in Portland, Maine. She was introduced by
Mrs. Margaret Dye Ellis, and said that she brought a message written
by Mrs. Stevens' own hand. It was a plea for National Constitutional
Prohibition — from one facing eternity; and was sent to those who had
it in their power to bring to fruition this important bill. Miss Gordon
read the sacred message:
''The movement for National Constitutional Prohibition is meeting
with greater favor than I dared to hope on that memorable evening,
September 10, 1911, when on behalf of the World's and National
Woman's Christian Temperance Union, I made the proclamation —
and I dare to hope almost everything for the temperance cause. I
know we are to win. The destruction of the liquor traffic will glorify
God in heaven, and on earth will hasten the establishment of the
kingdom of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ."
Breaking a reverent silence, the chairman of the committee said:
"The Judiciary Committee of the Senate of the United States have
learned with profound regret of the death of Mrs. Stevens, and desire
to express to the W. C. T. U. their sincere sympathy."
Who can measure the impact on unawakened consciences of such an
"other-worldly" appeal. It had irresistible power, for it came from
one who unselfishly loved humanity, even unto death. On December
22, 1914, the memorable day of discussion, Congress did not adjourn
for either the noon or the evening meal. A thousand people sat through-
out the debate. Across the entire length of the house over the speak-
er's desk was fastened a scroll recording the number of individuals
endorsing the resolution and sent to Congress from National W. C.
135
Women Torc h - b e arer s
T. U. headquarters. Every state was represented upon this scroll.
Nearly 12,000 organizations and assemblies endorsed the resolution,
representing an aggregate of some 5,000,000 people. Adding to this
large number the petitioners whose names were sent directly to mem-
bers of Congress, it is safe to say that 10,000,000 American citizens
petitioned on this subject — ten times as many as ever petitioned any
government in the history of the world.
A majority vote for the bill was secured, but not the necessary
two-thirds. The liquor forces, though they called this "a big defeat"
for prohibition, were alarmed as they knew that a majority vote was
really a victory and meant disaster for their trade. Congressman
Hobson, shortly before the vote was taken at nearly midnight, held
the respect of every auditor as he made an eloquent speech. In this
challenge he stated that if the vote soon to follow did not submit
this question to the states, in 1916 the bill would again be the paramount
issue. In 1915, at the National W. C. T. U. convention held in
Seattle, Washington, the National W. C. T. U. president declared:
"The fact that a two-thirds majority vote was not obtained at this,
the first trial of National Constitutional Prohibition in the United
States Congress, does not daunt us. The united temperance forces of
this nation will patiently continue their righteous clamor until the
United States Congtress hears and heeds and haiids over to the
sovereign people of the states of this Republic this mighty question,
which will not be settled until it is settled right.
"The Supreme Court of the United States has declared that no
one has an inherent right to sell alcoholic liquors, and that no legis-
lature has the right to bargain away the public health and the public
morals. A legislature does this when it passes a license law. Local
option makes it easier for the liquor men to handle the situation.
This is why they prefer it to a Federal prohibition law. Across our
continent already gleams the white way of prohibition. Good roads
are the order of the day. We have a Lincoln highway from the
Atlantic to the Pacific. Let the allied temperance forces complete a
trans-continental highway from Washington to Washington; a hlgn-
way in which the wayfaring man shall not err; a highway safe for
the feet of little children ; a good road of prohibition named in honor
of the father of our country — the Washington prohibition highway."
National Constitutional Prohibition brought its own spectacular
136
The Eighteenth Amendment
and moral appeal to the boys and girls. As National Prohibition
Guards they rallied to the defense of the home with Miss Mary B.
Ervin, national general secretary, as their enthusiastic leader.
Under the supervision of Mrs. Stella B. Irvine, national super-
intendent of the Sunday School department, an immense petition, na-
tional in character, and signed by Sunday School scholars of all grades
w^as sent to Congress. It read: "We the undersigned young people,
members of the Sunday Schools of the various states, are trying to fit
ourselves for the duties of citizenship. There is prevailing in our
nation a deadly disease — alcoholism — and against its ravages we have
no adequate protection. We appeal to you to eradicate the cause of
this disease to make it unlawful for anyone to sell or traffic in any
manner in alcoholic liquors for beverage purposes. We appeal to you
for the opportunity to grow up in an atmosphere free from this
pestilence. As the future citizens of this United States we earnestly
plead for National Constitutional Prohibition."
During the session of the Sixty-fourth Congress, a prohibition reso-
lution similar to the one sponsored by Congressman Hobson, was in-
troduced in the House by Edwin Y. Webb of North Carolina; and
in the Senate by Morris Sheppard of Texas. It was favorably re-
ported but not brought to a vote.
In her Washington Letter, a popular feature of the weekly Union
Signal, Margaret Dye Ellis tells the dramatic story of the Day of
Decision in the Sixt3'-fifth Congress — December 17, 1917. She wrote:
"The victory is ours. Praise be to God! — The greatest day in the
history of the temperance reform has come and gone. The referendum
bill for National Constitutional Prohibition has passed the House of
Representatives by a vote of two-hundred and eighty-two in favor to
one-hundred and twenty-eight against, and the Senate concurred in
this the following day by a vote of forty-seven to eight. Monday,
December 17, 1917, had been set apart as the day when the House
would take final action on the measure. This body convened at
eleven o'clock, the doors being opened at ten o'clock. A large group
of white ribboners stood for half an hour awaiting entrance. In this
company were the president and the entire official staff of the National
Woman's Christian Temperance Union, it being the first time the
general officers had all been in the Capitol building together. As we
waited, some of us quietly repeated that beautiful psalm, beginning
137
Women Torc h - b barer s
'I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.'
The great galleries filled as soon as the doors were opened, and all
day, until six in the afternoon, that great 'crowd of witnesses' sat
almost motionless. The members of the House came in leisurely; and
just before the hands of the clock reached eleven, Speaker Champ
Clark, with smiling face and wearing the customary carnation pinned
to his coat, ascended the steps of the rostrum and, with a sharp rap
of his gavel, called the House to order. The blind chaplain, Rev.
Dr. Couden, offered a fervent prayer.
"Congressman Webb, standing in front of the Speaker's desk,
opened the discussion by exhibiting a poster bearing the sentiment of
a number of leaders of labor organizations, commending and endorsing
prohibition. It was a reply to Samuel Gompers' statement that a
majority of the leaders of labor were opposed to the proposed amend-
ment. About fifty speeches, pro and con, were made during the day.
As five o'clock, the hour set for the vote, drew near, the interest, if
possible, grew more intense. Three amendments were offered which
were overwhelmingly voted down, and at five minutes past five the
roll-call began. Silence prevailed as this historic roll-call proceeded
and the ayes and noes responded. This was the culmination of a
struggle that has been fought over and over for so many years. Tally-
sheets were in the hands of scores of people, and as the ayes began
to gain, there was a rustling of leaves and an atmosphere of ex-
pectancy.
"Not until the speaker announced the result, two-hundred and
eighty-two in favor to one-hundred and twenty-eight against, were
the friends of the measure absolutely sure we had won the great vic-
tory. Then the floodgates of enthusiasm burst forth. Even though
the Speaker had twice warned the galleries, 'to refrain from any
demonstration,' it was impossible to stop them for both floors and
galleries evidenced their delight. It was noticeable that those who
had opposed the referendum hurried away, evidently greatly surprised
at the results. Ex-Speaker Cannon, who had not responded to his
name when called by the clerk, rose just before the vote was an-
nounced and asked that his name be called again. This was done,
Mr. Cannon responding '"aye" most heartily. The national president
with the national official staff, waited upon Mr. Webb to congratulate
and thank him, in behalf of thousands of white-ribboners.
138
The Eighteenth Amendment
"During his address in the House, Mr. Webb read a letter from
the National W. C. T. U. president, which appears in full in tne
Congressional Record of Monday, December 17, 1917. It is a con-
cise resume of the work of the W. C. T. U, in its efforts to secure
a Federal prohibition amendment. Addressed to Congressman Webb,
it reads: 'It is an honor to present to you, and through you, to the
House of Representatives, the appeal of five-hundred-thousand members
of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, praying for the passage
of the joint resolution providing for a referendum to the states on
National Constitutional Prohibition. This appeal comes from a host
of home-loving women who, with untiring energy and unstinted de-
votion, have wrought marvelously for the moral and spiritual ad-
vancement of our country. This appeal comes from half a million
patriots who answered promptly the call to the colors. The nobility
of woman's sacrifice, the fine quality of her patriotic service, her keen
discernment in the adjustment of industrial conditions for women and
children, her tender ministrations at home and on the battlefield should
entitle her to the granting by the Congress of this appeal.
" 'In addition to the petition of women members of the National
Woman's Christian Temperance Union, I beg to present a huge peti-
tion of the endorsers of the Joint Resolution for a referendum to the
states on National Constitutional Prohibition, secured through the ef-
forts of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, and representing
eight million men and women of our Republic. Adding to these the
petitions sent directly to members of Congress it is safe to say that our
appeal is backed by more than eleven million people. If these peti-
tioners could be massed in solid phalanx in our Capital City you would
see more than thirty times the population of the District of Columbia.
" 'Unquestionably it is an appeal for an act of true democracy, an
appeal for a patriotic economic measure. Autocracy and alcohol must
be overthrown. 'Speed up' is the urgent cry echoing back to us from
the awful battle fronts of Europe. 'Speed up' on prohibition legisla-
tion is the respectful appeal of the Woman's Christian Temperance
Union to the Congress of the United States. We pray that in this
crucial time of a stupendous world crisis the House of Representatives
will rise to this exalted opportunity and give to the legislatures of the
various states the chance to deal with a question so enorm.ously vital
to the economic and moral interests of our republic. When the war
139
Women Torc h - b barer s
is over and a righteous peace has been secured, only the clear brain of
a sober nation can be entrusted with the solution of the mighty prob-
lems that will then confront the greatest democracy on earth — the
United States of America.'
"The House resolution gave the states seven years in which to act;
the Senate resolution passed August 1, 1917, by a vote of sixty-five to
twenty, gave the states six years to act; hence the need of ratification
by the Senate of the House resolution. This was done on Tuesday,
December 18, without the formality of a roll-call, but by a rising vote,
forty-seven to eight. Having received a two-thirds vote in both Houses,
the resolution does not require the approval of the President. Ratifi-
cation requires the approval of three-fourths of the states of the Union,
thus removing the struggle from the Congress to the state legislatures.
It will mean hard, persistent work to bring the states up to the required
standard. The liquor hierarchy knows it means the death-knell of
their trade if the necessary thirty-six states ratify this resolution, so
we call to our never failing, always ready constituency. 'Prepare for
the battle.' Money without stint will be used by the liquor power to
prevent the election to the legislatures of men favorable to the amend-
ment. We have many good men in every state and they are the ones
to fill our legislative hall. I hail you comrades of long hard years —
let us still press on to complete victory."
It is significant that the Crusade Psalm opens and closes with a
song of praise. Throughout the fifty years of W. C. T. U. pilgrimage
toward the mountain height of Federal prohibition, W. C. T. U. hymn-
ology contains a victory note clearly sounding. An early song leader
in the National W. C, T. U. conventions, Mrs. Alice Osborne Harris
of Boston, gave the W. C. T. U. a "Victory" paean set to a Swiss
mountain melody. "Victory" with cornet accompaniment became an
instant favorite — later adapted by Mrs. Frances W. Graham to proph-
esy the coming of a national prohibition victory. After the passage
of the Eighteenth Amendment, Mrs. Graham again adapted the song
to prophesy a world prohibition victory. "Victory" has been the mus-
ical peak of each annual convention, inspiring thousands of earnest toil-
ers with the conviction that "prohibition will come, surely come."
Often the cornet obbligato has been played on the "golden" cornet given
to the National W. C. T. U. by Mrs. F. A. Bent of Maine, who was
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The Eighteenth Amendment
wont to call it "Maine's prohibition bugle." In late years, Miss Rose
Bower of South Dakota has served as National W. C. T. U. cornetist.
THE TEXT OF
THE EIGHTEENTH AMENDMENT TO THE
FEDERAL CONSTITUTION
"Resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each
House concurring therein) : That the following amendment to the
Constitution be and hereby Is, proposed to the States, to become valid
as a part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures, of the
several States as provided by the Constitution:
"Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article
the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within,
the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the
United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for
beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.
"Section 2. The Congress and the several states shall have concur-
rent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
"Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have
been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures
of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven
years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Con-
gress."
The W. C. T. U. entered whole-heartedly into the campaign for
the ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment. The distillers of the
country put up a two billion dollar fund in an effort to defeat National
Constitutional Prohibition. Their leading lawyer, when asked by a
journalist what he thought of their chances for success replied, "I do
not care to make any comment. This prohibition is going through.
It is like a great prairie fire sweeping across the country and cannot
be stopped!"
Throughout this and previous exciting campaigns, the flying of the
flag between stately trees in front of Rest Cottage and the National
W. C. T. U. headquarters, Evanston, Illinois, was a notice to the
community that the prohibition cause had achieved new triumphs. On
one of the trees from which the flag was suspended was a brief expla-
141
Women Torc h- b e are r s
nation. Students of the Northwestern University, passing, stopped to
read, and occasionally expressed their delight by a cheer.
On January 29, 1920, in Washington, D. C, thirty-six states —
three-fourths of the forty-eight commonwealths — having ratified the
amendment, the acting Secretary of State, Hon. Frank L. Polk, signed
the proclamation declaring the ratification of the Eighteenth Amend-
ment to the Constitution of the United States, It was a great occa-
sion. A group of notable temperance leaders, both men and women,
were present. The pen first used by Secretary Polk was presented,
for the organization, to the president of the National W. C. T. U.
The handle of the pen is of shining silver and it has written many
white-ribbon letters to white-ribbon women who have given one thou-
sand dollars each to the Jubilee Fund.
The honor roll of states that have ratified the Federal Prohibition
Amendment and date of ratification is here recorded :
1. Mississippi, January 8, 1918.
2. Virginia, January 10, 1918.
3. Kentucky, January 14, 1918.
4. South Carolina, January 23, 1918.
5. North Dakota, January 25, 1918.
6. Maryland, February 13, 1918.
7. Montana, February 19, 1918.
8. Texas, March 4, 1918.
9. Delaware, March 18, 1918.
10. South Dakota, March 20, 1918.
11. Massachusetts, April 2, 1918.
12. Arizona, May 24, 1918.
13. Georgia, June 26, 1918.
14. Louisiana, August 8, 1918.
15. Florida, November 27, 1918.
16. Michigan, January 2, 1919.
17. Ohio, January 7, 1919.
18. Oklahoma, January 7, 1919.
19. Maine, January 8, 1919.
20. Idaho, January 8, 1919.
21. West Virginia, January 9, 1919.
22. Washington, January 13, 1919.
23. Tennessee, January 13, 1919.
142
The Eighteenth Amendment
24. California, January 13, 1919.
25. Indiana, January 14, 1919.
26. Arkansas, January 14, 1919.
27. Illinois, January 14, 1919.
28. North Carolina, January 14, 1919.
29. Kansas, January 14, 1919.
30. Alabama, January 14, 1919.
31. Iowa, January 15, 1919.
32. Colorado, January 15, 1919.
33. Oregon, January 15, 1919.
34. New Hampshire, January 15, 1919,
35. Utah, January 15, 1919.
36. Nebraska, January 16, 1919.
37. Missouri, January 16, 1919.
38. Wyoming, January 16, 1919.
39. Wisconsin, January 17, 1919.
40. Minnesota, January 17, 1919.
41. New Mexico, January 20, 1919.
42. Nevada, January 21, 1919.
43. Vermont, January 29,.. 1919.
44. New York, January 29, 1919.
45. Pennsylvania, February 25, 1919.
46. New Jersey, March 9, 1922.
There are two states yet to ratify, Connnecticut and Rhode Island.
The Connecticut legislature has adopted a state enforcement code.
When National Constitutional Prohibition became effective, one hundred
Connecticut towns were under no-license, and sixty-eight towns under
license. In 1922, the legislature of Rhode Island passed a prohibition
enforcement act by an overwhelming majority in both houses.
With vivid, logical oratory, Deborah Knox Livingston, in speak-
ing of the victory for prohibition, said: ''No greater piece of con-
structive legislation was ever added to the Constitution of the United
States than that embodied in the Eighteenth Amendment. Perhaps no
amendment to the Constitution was ever so thoroughly considered, from
so many angles, as was the Eighteenth Amendment. For more than
half a century the political, social, educational, and economic aspects
of prohibition have been discussed by the press, the pulpit and plat-
form, as well as by the people themselves. There was no putting over
143
Women Torc h - b e are r s
upon the people of the United States the law of national prohibition;
on the contrary, the people put through the Constitution this great
and beneficent law, and because it is an act of the people themselves,
we believe it will be a part of the Constitution as long as the govern-
ment stands.
"Law enforcement is the great political challenge of our day. The
challenge must be met by an enlightened citizenship ! By a revival
on the part of its citizens of obedience to the law and order of our coun-
try; by the election to of^ce of men and women who are not afraid
to do their duty, irrespective of consequences, whether or not those
consequences result in their political or social ostracism. The election
of such officers is accomplished only through the combined efforts of all
clean, decent, and courageous citizens."
A strong enforcement code, the Volstead Act, defining intoxicating
liquor as a beverage containing more than one-half of one per cent of
alcohol and providing enforcement machinery was enacted by the Sixty-
sixth Congress in special session. Many otherwise well-informed peo-
ple, and those in favor of the return of beer and wine think that the
percentage of alcohol in drink considered intoxicating, was decided
by the drys. It was the liquor people themselves who asked that one-
half of one per cent of alcohol should be classed as fermented. This
one-half of one per cent was fixed upon when near beer began to be
made — before that, all beers had been classed as fermented liquor.
The real reason for Congress adopting one-half of one per cent as
a standard was because the states that had tried it, clearly demonstrated
that a higher percentage made prohibition enforcement impossible.
"While recognizing that there are limits beyond which Congress can-
not go in treating beverages as within the power of enforcement," said
former Chief Justice White of the Supreme Court, "we think that
those limits are not exceeded by the provisions of the Volstead Act
wherein liquors containing one-half of one per cent of alcohol by vol-
ume, and fit for use for beverage purposes, are treated as within that
power."
At this time, the beneficial effects of national prohibition that had
been in operation some months, Avere apparent. In spite of only
a partial enforcement the transformation was magical. When
later on it became apparent to the defeated, but still organized,
liquor forces, that they could hope for no legal support from the Su-
144
The Eighteenth Ame n dment
preme Court or any other department of the Federal government,
they organized with unprecedented subtlety and systematic strategy,
a conscienceless campaign of nefarious nullification. These representa-
tives of the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment and of the
Personal Liberty League, sent out as a rally slogan — "The Liberty
Bell must Ring Again." The liberty bell of July 4, 1776, did ring
again on January 16, 1919, and January 16, 1920 — but, though having
ears to hear, the nullifiers heard it not. The truly American liberty-
loving, home-loving and nation-loving people heard it, and on every
succeeding birthday of the Eighteenth Amendment they have sent
rejoicing notes of that pealing bell around the v^^orld.
It v^^as significant that during the campaign the United States Pub-
lic Health Service issued the follovi^ing w^arning against alcohol: 'Al-
cohol, as ordinarily taken, is not a stimulant, but a depressing drug.
Your brain and nervous system govern your body. Alcohol not only
reduces the efficiency of a nation, but life insurance experience has
shown that the death-rate among steady drinkers supposed to be temper-
ate— even within the bounds of so-called moderation — is nearly double
that among average people."
The Anti-Prohibition organizations announced a definite cam-
paign for the following definite purposes: To get the Volstead Act
out of the law and keep it out; to work for the repeal of the prohibi-
tion amendment. These organizations called for a million members
— members who would work for the repeal of the Volstead Law and
favor state's rights as to prohibition. Knowing these facts, the Na-
tional Woman's Christian Temperance Union met organized evil with
organized good and inaugurated a lively five-year campaign for a million
members who would work for the observance, enforcement and reten-
tion of the Volstead Code and the Eighteenth Amendment.
"What this country most needs is a good glass of beer for a nickel,"
said the president of the National Personal Liberty League. The
plan of this organization which is aligned with the breweries, is to
arouse voters to obtain an amendment to the Volstead Act which will
permit the manufacture and sale of beer of not less than 2.75 per cent
alcoholic content. It is well known to the allied temperance forces
that three-fourths of the drunkenness existing before the Eighteenth
Amendment went into effect, was due to beer-drinking.
145
Women Torc h - b barer s
As early as 1922, the Association Against the Prohibition Amend-
ment announced a new slogan — "Out of the Dry Trenches by 1924."
From their headquarters in Washington, the Association sent out this
announcement: "Beer and light wines within two years and possibly
by next summer," is the promise held out to the thirsty by the Asso-
ciation, which is organizing throughout the country to carry the Con-
gressional election for the consummation of this program.
The W. C. T. U. believes that the men who, today, are saying,
"We don't like the Eighteenth Amendment and we'll not obey it" are
not fully civilized, for they have not come to a realization that the
only freedom that has an enduring basis is one founded on absolute
loyalty to and observance of constituted law and authority. They for-
get that personal liberty ends where public injury begins. "The
Eighteenth Amendment," said the late president, Warren G. Harding,
"is the will of America and must be sustained by the government and
public opinion, else contempt for the law will undermine our very foun-
dations. There is only one position for a public official or a law-abid-
ing citizen: Support the Constitution and obey the laws as they are
enacted. The Constitution of the United States should command the
respect and obedience of every American citizen, otherwise our govern-
ment cannot long endure."
"The authority of the law is questioned in these days all too much.
The binding obligation of obedience against personal desire is denied
in many quarters. If these doctrines prevail, all organized government,
all liberty, all security are at an end," said Calvin Coolidge, when, as
governor of Massachusetts, and confronted with lawless police officials
in the capital city, he was superbly successful.
The opinion of many voters opposed to the return of beer and
wine is voiced by Colonel Hayward, U. S. District Attorney of New
York, who says: "The beer memorial to Congress which Governor
Alfred Smith sponsored was a beer pledge over which the wets hoped
to cross to the Island of Hootch." This discerning attorney also states
that "When two popular songs are sung and there occurs a discord
as one side sings 'The Sidewalks of New York,' and the other 'The
Star Spangled Banner,' there should be no doubt which side you should
choose." "The signature of the governor to the bill," he asserts, "was
a violation of his oath to support the Constitution of the United States.
The state law was the result of one hundred years of legislation."
146
The Eighteenth Amendment
When the authority of the Eighteenth Amendment was nationally
threatened, President Coolidge invited the governors of thirty-seven
states to meet with him at the White House. A determined program
for the rigid enforcement of the prohibition laws, that divides the bur-
den of responsibility between the Federal and state governments, was
adopted. "Enforcement of law and obedience to law," said the Presi-
dent, "by the very nature of our institutions, are not matters of choice
in this republic, but the expression of a moral requirement of living
in accordance with the truth. They are clothed with a spiritual sig-
nificance in which is revealed the life or the death of the American
ideal of self-government. The great body of the people are thoroughly
law-abiding. This great law-abiding element of the nation is entitled to
support and protection. I propose to give that support and protection
to the limit provided by the Constitution and the law of the land
against every lawless element. The executives are required to enforce
the law." On another occasion the President, in appealing for better
law enforcement, said : "It is the duty of a citizen not only to observe
the law, but to let it be known that he is opposed to its violation."
"Everybody is ready to sustain the laws he likes," says the Secre-
tary of State. "That is not, in^ the proper sense, respect for law and
order. The test of respect for law is where the law is upheld even '
though it hurts. And we cannot afford in this country to have a
Constitutional provision, which is the fundamental law of the land,
ignored, betrayed."
On the fourth birthday of the Federal prohibitory law, January
16, 1924, three-fourths of the people of the United States rejoiced in
the benefits it had brought to their homes. The clamor for beer and
wine comes largely from the foreign element, the Association Against
the Prohibition Amendment and similar liquor organizations. The
amount of alcohol consumed by the average beer drinker is injurious.
Forty-three American Life Insurance Companies show by their records
that "policy holders who at the time of applying for insurance, were in
the habit of drinking two glasses of beer daily had an average death
rate eighteen per cent higher than the normal death rate."
Scientific experiments have all tended to show that the man who
drinks his pint of wine, or his two or more glasses of beer daily, is
just as surely submitting his mind to the injurious effects of the drug
as is the man who chooses the whisky road. It is the drug effect of
147
Women Torc h - b barer s
alcohol for which beer and wine are drunk. If not, then there is no
beer or wine question. There are palatable non-alcoholic drinks made
from grains and fruits that do not produce the harmful results of alco-
hol. If the drinker does not desire the drug effect, he will not use
such drinks; if he prefers beer and wine, he prefers them for the drug
effect of alcohol. Wine, as generally understood, is the fermented
juice of the grape. Wine contains the habit-forming drug. A one-half
pint of ten per cent wine contains as much alcohol as a single one-
and-six-tenths ounce drink of whisky and sends as much alcohol into
the blood of the drinker. "The general moral," said Francis William
Newman, "is that the light wine gives the taste for strong wine.
The national taste has to be altered if a great national calamity is to
be wiped out. Total disuse alone can enable us to regain the unso-
phisticated taste of childhood." The above scientific facts are vouched
for by Miss Cora F. Stoddard. Before national prohibition, the po-
lice courts of the big cities were filled with men intoxicated by beer
and v/ine. A Boston policeman, after forty-one years' service, has
said, "My experience is that the beer drinker becomes more gluttonous,
more degraded, and often more brutal than any other kind of drunk-
ard."
The Federal Prohibition Commissioner, Roy A. Haynes, strongly
supported by President Coolidge, in his fearless attitude toward law
breakers has made this patriotic and uncompromising statement: "Shall
the saloon come back into our homes through the front door? No, ten
thousand times, no. Then, in the name of decency, let it not come
back through the cellar door or the back door. Shall it come back
through the upper world, with the approval of our best citizens upon
its return? Then in the name of honor, let it not come back through
the underworld of our life, with only the blessing of criminals and law
breakers upon it. To say that it is impossible for America to enforce
any law is to do violence to American tradition and to underestimate
the American spirit. American will-power is the alchemy that has
ever turned apparent impossibilities into startling achievements, and
now is the time when it must be determined positively and definitely
whether or not we are able to make and enforce our own laws. This,
in my humble judgment, is the greatest problem confronting America
today."
148
The Eighteenth Amendment
Commissioner Haynes gives the following valuable statement of the
definite benefits that have resulted from the national prohibition of liq-
uor traffic in the United States of /America:
"Prohibition has reduced the arrests for drunkenness more than
one-half.
"Prohibition has reduced the arrests for drunkenness among women
by more than one-half; in some localities as much as 80%.
"Prohibition has cut heavily into the number of arrests for of-
fenses against chastity.
"Prohibition has reduced by one-half, the deaths from alcohol and
alcoholic insanity,
"Prohibition has lowered the national death rate to an extent that
can now be measured in figures.
"Prohibition has materially cut down the population of state penal
farms, prisons and almshouses, releasing thousands of citizens for use-
ful work. ' .,:'.«'^:»-^kK|
"Prohibition has had a marked influence in the reduction of the
number of cases of juvenile delinquency as shown by court records, be-
speaking not only the force of example at home, but an increased sense
of responsibility and exercise of restraint on the part of the parent.
"During the three years prohibition has been in operation, there has
been a steady falling off in industrial accidents and an increase in the
worker's efficiency.
"During the same period, there has been a rapid improvement in
school and college attendance.
"There has been a continuously increasing activity in home-build-
ing. The volume of new homes built in 1922 was five times greater
than that of 1918, the last wet year.
"There has been a definite movement toward more wholesome forms
of social life and recreation. During each month of the year 1922,
there were social and recreational buildings constructed that repre-
sented an expenditure of $9,164,000, or an outlay for these purposes of
$2,200,000 a month greater than that of 1918.
"There was, as shown by figures given by the Comptroller of the
Currency on savings banks, an increase in savings banks deposits.
"There has been an astonishing increase in the strength and mem-
bership of our churches since prohibition enforcement became a fact.
In 1921, church membership increased 1,200,000, in 1922, there was an
149
Women Torc h - b barer s
increase of more than 950,000 over the previous year. For every day
of 1922, 3,000 persons joined the church, twelve ministers were li-
censed or ordained and seven congregations were organized. During
the year an average of $7,172,000 was expended each month for the
erection of churches and other religious or memorial buildings.
"The amazing tendencies in our national life which we have wit-
nessed since prohibition enforcement became a fact cannnot be over-
looked or unfelt even by those most determinedly opposed to the law.
The reduction in the death rate, the increase in longevity, the elimi-
nation of the brothel, the rapid disappearance of crimes against chas-
tity, the falling off in cases of destitution due to intemperance, the
reduction in the burden of juvenile courts, the lowered rate of alco-
holic insanity, the abandonment of institutions for the cure of drunk-
ards— all these point with inexorable definiteness and certainty to
the fact that prohibition, even imperfectly enforced as yet, is weaving
something new and worth while into the fabric of American life."
The Federal Prohibition Commissioner depends upon the support
of the women. He says, "The womanhood of America can co-operate
with the Federal government in a great campaign — not in destroying
stills and arresting violators — but in a great campaign of preaching
and living law observance, a program of promptly assuming the respon-
sibilities of citizenship, as serving on juries, meeting nullification prop-
aganda, and inspiring the young and old with a proper appraisal of
the fundamentals of Americanism; — a campaign of active participation
in political and citizenship problems, for bad men are elected by the
good women who stay away from the polls on election day." Women
are resourceful and will ever find it possible to convert "disreputable
beer-kegs into substantial bee-hives." Already in one locality this has
been done and while the beer-kegs still retain their sting, it isn't of the
variety formerly administered.
Leading journals are filled with articles giving the benefits that
have accrued to the nation since the legalized liquor traffic was
abolished. There is space for only a few typical statements showing
the blessings that have come to the American w^orkman, to the Amer-
ican home, and to the American people who seek safety in travel and
on the street.
In an address delivered recently at a citizenship conference in
New York City, Warren S. Stone, national head of the organization of
150
W. C. T. U. Mother-Child Center, Detroit, Michigan (above)
Children of W. C. T. U. Americanization Center, St Louis, Missouri
The Eighteenth Amendment
Locomotive Engineers, said: "Prohibition has come to stay. Every
time you take a railroad journey, you ride behind one of the men I
represent. They are skilled men, keen, cool, bright, w^ide-av^^ake men
of the very highest type, men v^'ho can think and act quickly; men M^ith
nerves of steel. We who have spent most of our lives in the cab of a
locomotive know the infinitesimal fraction of a second that oftentimes
means safety. That alcohol does slow down the brain action is con-
ceded by all.
"Every law-abiding citizen who loves his country and is interested
in its future welfare is vitally interested in the enforcement of the
Eighteenth Amendment. In my opinion, the future of our country
depends entirely on the enactment of fair laws and the enforcement
of the same. If the fact is brought home to the American people that
it is the intention of our state and national officers to rigidly enforce
the prohibition law, I am certain it will create a more respectful atti-
tude toward the general laws of this country. Every law-breaker, re-
gardless of his social position, or whether he be rich or poor, should
be required to pay the penalty of the law he has violated. And when
every violator is made to pay the penalty of the broken law, it will not
be very long until the American people will have a more wholesome
respect for our laws than they have at the present time.
"There are some people laboring under the delusion that they are
going to have the prohibition law modified or abolished. Someone
should awake them from their Rip Van Winkle sleep. I wish that
they could go with me for thirty days as I travel over this broad land
of ours and see the homes being erected everywhere, note the accounts
being opened at the savings banks; see the families all out together in
the parks, recreation and community centers; see the children taken
out of the sweat-shops, see them well fed, wearing shoes and warm
clothing, and in school; see prosperity and sunshine now existing where
formerly there was only squalor and misery. All this is a result of
prohibition — why, they had just as well talk about stopping the waves
from beating on the shore, or the sunlight descending from heaven, as
to imagine they can stop the onward march of the prohibition move-
ment. Again, I say prohibition has come to stay."
No doubter of the value of prohibition can escape the logic of this
statement made by another speaker at the conference:
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Women Torc h- b barer s
"Did you ever hear it said there is just as much liquor used now
as ever there w^as — a remark that w^ould be funny if it were not tragic.
Not so long ago I had business in New York. There was a base-ball
game played that day, and I took the time to go because I knew I was
going to speak to this conference, and I wanted to tell those gathered
what I saw. I went out to the ball-grounds and there were about
seventy thousand people present, and I not only watched the game,
but I watched the crowd. I did not see a single man or woman in-
toxicated, and there wasn't an instance of disorder. And such condi-
tions obtain all over this country today. I have no need to tell you
about New York and other places. What about the situation in your
own home city or town? Is it not a fact that a drunken man on the
streets today is a rarity — a curiosity? Of course, I say there are
entirely too many if there are any at all. But that is not my point.
My point is that any man who is fair, and looking for facts in every
community in the United States, will say that conditions have un-
proved tremendously, and even if we make no greater progress than
we have made up to this hour, the Eighteenth Amendment would have
been magnificently worth while."
Recently, the National Federation of Settlements, after an exhaus-
tive inquiry in forty-five cosmopolitan centers passed the following re-
solution: "Believing that practically full enforcement of the Eight-
eenth Amendment is vital to the safety and well-being of the nation
and is practically feasible in every community, resolved. That the Na-
tional Federation of Settlements heartily approves the efforts of those
who are striving to enforce this amendment and calls upon all the duly
constituted authorities strictly to enforce all the laws for securing its
operation as the law of the land." Commissioner of Correction, Fred-
erick A. Wallis, of New York City, declares that "The present pop-
ulation of the various institutions of the department of correction has
been much less since the Volstead Act became effective, than it was in
the same number of years prior to the Volstead Act." This decrease
in prison population is probably due to the fact that the multitude that
had free access to liquor in the past, cannot now obtain it so easily,
and fights and brawls have been greatly reduced and disorderly-conduct
cases are fewer.
The value of prohibition is evidenced on the Bowery in New York
City. A view of the Bowery, according to The Survey, shows
152
The Eighteenth Amendment
that since prohibition went into effect the bread line, even in the crisis
or unemployment, has been discontinued. "Before prohibition many
good people were worried about the disappearance of the saloon — the
poor man's club' and certain labor leaders with moist idiosyncrasies
predicted all kinds of dire consequences. The problem took care of
itself. Those qualities which made the bar-tender popular behind the
mahogany bar, are now better appreciated and rewarded behind the
lunch or ice-cream counter. The assertion, or belief, that men really
like to wallow in the mire of the bar-room belongs to the days of So-
dom and Gomorrah. Witness the drunkards of yesterday adorned in
white collar, multicolored silk shirt, with stiff hat, brown shoes and a
'nobby' suit and necktie, a trifle gaudy, somewhat loud — screaming if
you please — but it heralds the awakening of a man just as the thrush
and the violet betoken the coming of spring."
"We have heard much and often, through the newspapers, that
the American Labor movement unanimously wants and votes for light
wines and beer," says Mrs. Raymond Robins, social economist. "There
is no such unanimity. In Chicago, the president of the Federation
of Labor, John Fitzpatrick, is a total abstainer, and has been
one for all the long years that I have known him, and Steve
Sumner, organizer of the Milk Wagon Drivers' union, is a prohibi-
tionist and appeals so persuasively that he has succeeded in getting
every member of that union to sign the pledge. There are no labor-
ing women who do not know the hideousness of the political control
of the liquor interests. It mattered not what bills were introduced
in the state legislatures for bettering the industrial conditions of
women and children; it mattered not whether we worked to secure
the protection of children, the enfranchisement of women, or the
eight-hour day, we were opposed by the liquor interests. Whether
we asked to have the children of the richest land in the world taken
out of the mines and factories and put into the schools, whether we
asked for the shorter work-day or the right of women to the ballot —
it mattered not how simple the request — we were met by the united
opposition of the liquor interests — including light wines and beer.
These same interests are seeking to regain their lost political control
by using unthinking folk, and especially the j'ounger men and women,
to do their bidding and work for the return of these conditions of
humiliation and disgrace — and this in the name of liberty. With Mr.
153
Women To rc h - b barer s
Robins I went to Chicago eighteen years ago. We made our home
on the top floor of a tenement house in the old Seventeenth Ward,
a river w^ard v^^ith 75,000 folk in less than a mile square, represent-
ing twenty- three or more different nationalities with a different
ethical, political, religious and economic heritage, yet holding in com-
mon one purpose — the building of a home; and one faith — the hope of
a better life.
"In the early days, w^e .had practically three saloons to every four
street corners. To know our neighbors we had to know saloons
and saloon-keepers, and to meet with the working women in their
trade union gatherings, we met often in the saloon parlor because
good people would not permit us to meet elsewhere. In those days,
in New York or Chicago, or many another large city, a union of young
girls had no other place for its meetings. Today, with a growing
conception of the value of life, schools and churches have opened
their doors and young girls are welcomed whether they come to study
literature in their clubs or economic conditions in their union.
"We need to re-state our reasons for the enactment of the
Eighteenth Amendment, because there have come into maturity young
men and young women to whom this story is not known. We must re-
state the reasons for our faith. I want them to know that we are
living not only under the 'Thou shall not' of the Old Testament, but
that we are living also under the 'Thou shalt' of the New Test-
ment ; that we are living not only under the law, but that we also
live under grace. We want our message to contain not merely 'Thou
shalt not drink,' 'Thou shalt not be a bootlegger.' 'Thou shalt not
break the law,' but the greater word, — 'Thou shalt be fir,' 'Thou
shalt be free,' 'Thou shalt have life more abundantly.' We want
the understanding of the young men and women of the nation and
their free assent to the task in hand."
The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company gives this cheermg
statement: "Deaths from alcoholism among 15,000,000 industrial
policy holders, decreased 17.5% during the first quarter of 1924 as
compared to the same period in 1923. The death rate from
alcoholism so far in 1924 is 2.8% per 100,000 among its policy
holders." One of the latest scientific statements concerning alcohol
recently given by Professor W, D. Lew^is of the department of
chemistry of Northwestern University should have wide publicity.
154
The Eighteenth Amendment
"All alcohol of whatever kind," Professor Lewis says, "from the al-
cohol of fermentation to wood alcohol, is deadly poison. Its
action differs from that of other poisons only in the rapidity of
reaction. Every kind of alcohol has a malicious effect upon the
blood, nerves and tissues, and these effects have been proved to be
permanent. Wood alcohol, when taken into the body, forms for-
maldehyde and formic acid." In view of these facts, Professor Lewis'
assertion that only a chemist in a laboratory can tell the difference
betM'^een wood alcohol and a common alcohol of fermentation assumes
a new significance.
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union believes that the
American people are determined that the Eighteenth Amendment shall
be enforced. A story is told of a man in a railway car in England
%\ho took in with him a large mastiff. A guard came in and told
him that he must put the dog into the baggage car. "Is that so !" said
the man, smiling politely. "You put him out." The guard moved to-
ward the dog, but the dog showed his teeth and the guard went out
and locked the door. At another station a similar scene occurred. At
a third station no guard came in. The man said to himself com-
placently, "I have carried my point." Then he began to wonder why
they stayed so long at that station. Seeing a guard passing, he called
to him from the window and inquired why they were remaining so
long. The man answered, "You were twice notified to put out your
dog. You did not do it and so we have side-tracked you and the train
has been gone an hour." Is it not the opportune time to side-track
legislators and political parties that pay no heed to the demand of
the protectors of the home, and let the law obeying people travel
on to a higher civilization?
Representing the National Woman's Christian Temperance Union
of nearly half a million voting citizens, the national president recently
spoke before the platform committees of the Republican and
Democratic parties. The committees were asked to embody in their
platforms a declaration for law enforcement with special reference to
the maintenance of the Eighteenth Amendment.
Today, there are needed officials like these of whom J. G. Holland
in "Wanted" wrote, "Men whom the lust of office cannot kill ;
Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy; Men who possess opinions
and a will ; Men who love honor ; Men who will not lie ; Men who can
155
Women Torc h- b barer s
stand before a demagogue, and brave his treacherous flatteries without
winking."
The great scientist, Dr. C. W. Saleeby, quoted in an earlier chap-
ter, makes a declaration of profound significance when he points out
that the prohibition movement is a question of preserving the life
of nations from generation to generation : "On the day American pro-
hibition came into force," writes Dr. Saleeby, "I said it was the
greatest health measure in history. The home's greatest enemy has
been turned out. The homes of the people have been protected.
Motherhood, the first sacred circle around the future life of the race,
is protected and the home is made safe." In many of the large cities
today there are figures to prove this assertion. Dr. Saleeby verified
his statement with well-accredited statistics.
Professor Amos R. Wells, the brainy and brave editor of
The Christian Endeavor World, Boston, Massachusetts, in the fol-
lowing lines on "Prohibition Enforcement," well expresses the deter-
mined purpose of the allied forces of the home — the purpose to de-
stroy this racial poison:
"We have put out the fire that was burning our house,
And they bring us a match to light it again.
We have got the wild animals trapped in their lair;
They would smash the obstructions and open the den.
"We have cured the disease that was sapping our life ;
They would feed us with germs of that very disease.
We have planted an orchard with promise of wealth ;
They would poison the ground, they would girdle the trees.
"We are out of our wilderness weary and worn ;
They would turn us right back to those desolate ways.
We have lighted a beacon that flashes afar;
They would put out the light, they would darken our daj^s.
"We have battled too hard to be caught by a trick.
We have traveled too far to be turned at the goal.
We will hold all our gains to the very last inch.
We will win all mankind to the very last soul!"
156
The Eighteenth Amendm e_n_t
Mrs. Mabel Walker Willebrandt, Assistant United States Attorney
General, whom Jack O'Donnell in Collier s call "prohibition's white
hope," is a member of the W. C. T. U. She is hated and feared by
liquor law breakers. ''Give me the authority" she says, "and let me
have my pick of three hundred men and I will make this country as
dry as it is humanly possible to get it. There is one way it can be
done — get at the sources of supply. I know them and I know how
they could be cut off. I have no patience with this policy of going
after the hip-pocket and speak-easy cases. That is like trying to dry
up the Atlantic ocean with a blotter!" The story as Mr. O'Donnell
tells it, reads like a romance. This American up-to-date young woman,
a judge, is the heroine. In her conflict with lawlessness, she pierces
the enemy's armor with the sword of law. Mr. O'Donnell sums up,
in the following paragraph, the prowess displayed by this "first legal
lady of the land": "She is the woman who broke up the Big Four
bootleg ring of Savannah, Georgia; put George Remus, one-time real
king of booze venders, in Atlanta Penitentiary ; wrote most of the
opinions which hamper booze running and rum smuggling, and is the
one person in official Washington who could and, if vested with proper
authority, wovdd make America almost bone dry. Mrs. Willebrandt
doesn't bow to any political god and she places honesty above party
expediency."
Under the direction of the gifted national W. C. T. U. director of
the Christian Citizenship department, Mrs. Ida B. Wise Smith, the
W. C. T. U., national and state, is pushing its own progressive citizen-
ship and law enforcement program. In co-operation with other organ-
izations, that met for conference in Washington, D. C, Fred B.
Smith, chairman, the following program was adopted.
"Scientific temperance instruction in the public schools ; pledge sign-
ing in churches and Sunday Schools ; a ten years' program of training in
sobriety and clean living; systematic distribution of prohibition data;
churches and right minded members of clubs should discourage efforts to
circumvent the law and cultivate clean recreation and fellowship; in-
creased use of appeals to the eye. Conferences with movie producers
for elimination of scoffing at prohibition and creation of scenes de-
picting value of abstinence and prohibition ; training of young people
in citizenship ; promotion of respect for law ; must not honor law break-
ers whether in high lifje or low. The strength and perpetuity of the
157
Women Torc h - b barer s
nations lie in the moral character of the people. Forces of nullifica-
tion and lawlessness are everywhere at work. The forces of education
must reconceive their task, gird themselves for new adventure and
organize for at least a ten years' campaign."
The W. C. T. U., represented by the national president and Legis-
lative superintendent, is a vital factor of the Woman's National
Committee for Law Enforcement. The recent convening in Wash-
ington, D. C, of this influential committee meant that the lead-
ing women of the nation are determined to secure allegiance to the
Constitution and observance of law. The general chairman of this in-
clusive patriotic committee is Mrs. Henry W. Peabody of Boston,
Massachusetts; first vice-chairman, Mrs. William F. McDowell ot
Washington, D. C. ; editor, Mrs. Elizabeth Tilton of Cambridge,
Massachusetts. "Forward into the moral battle," "Up and doing" are
the earnest watchwords of this campaign. Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt ex-
pressed her appreciation of the W. C. T. U. of which she is a member,
when she said, "There is something that we women who never did
aught to bring prohibition should do now. Some of you, like myself,
were busy along other lines perhaps, or perhaps you were indifferent;
but at the same time, while we were at work elsewhere, there were
women who were working night and day with a sacrifice, with a power
of which we of this time have little idea. Some of you may perhaps be
old enough to remember, as do I, the time when churches did not
work in fellowship with each other ; and the greatest cause that brought
their union about was the Woman's Christian Temperance Union.
There never has been a woman leader in this country greater nor per-
haps so great as Frances Willard. In those early days, when those
women, — when the world did not sympathize with them, when the
vision that made them follow the light was not visible to others — in
those days they labored, and now they have achieved. I am not for-
getting what the men did. But I do not believe the people of this
country would ever have achieved prohibition had it not been for
those women."
Among the many noted women friendly to the Woman's Christian
Temperance Union, is the distinguished author of "America the Beauti-
ful," Katherine Lee Bates. Speaking at the Washington Conference,
Professor Bates, referring to "America the Beautiful," said : "What
158
The Eighteenth Amendment
strength, what uplift it may have, it draws from the American re-
sponse. It is yours as much as mine, save for the wording."
Repeating the second stanza,
*0 beautiful for pilgrim feet,
Whose stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America ! America !
God mend thine ev'ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control.
Thy liberty in law!'
Professor Bates said : "America is still a wilderness to be made beautf-
ful with law and order, self-mastery and self-sacrifice. Freedom sought
and found through such brave effort, such mighty labor, has yet to be
interpreted, to be distinguished from license, to be recognized as a force
of construction, not of destruction. Is not this great convention gathered
here to remind liberty that her true name is obedience?
"It is perhaps easier for women than for men to keep the Beatific
Vision clear of the confusion of the senses. It is not material prosperity
that matters most, but to build in beauty, in peace, in honor, in love,
those shining walls of the new Jerusalem. Why do we not build it
here and now; why wait? For brotherhood there are no national
bounds. I have sometimes been asked to write a fifth stanza to thfs
song, making it international in scope, but songs write themselves. Yet
in my thought I fling the last line around the globe. Our prayer for
brotherhood not content with embracing the broad lands from Atlantic
to Pacific, would enfold Asia and Africa and Europe in its return flight
from the Pacific to the Atlantic.
'America, America
God shed his grace on thee.
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.' "
Mrs. Kathleen Norris, the noted author, who also addressed the
Washington conference, gave this vivid word-picture of the Woman's
March of Allegiance which was the leading factor in securing for the
state of California the Enforcement Act. Mrs. Norris said in part:
"We had in California what they call a 50,000 rock-bottom wet vote.
We called together a mass meeting of the women who were interested.
159
Women Torc h - b e arer s
Mrs. Paul Raymond hoped for three hundred women and sent out
invitations to more than 10,000! She organized the largest luncheor>
ever given in San Francisco. There w^ere 1700 women at that luncheon,
and as one of the wet papers remarked disgustedly the next day, 'The
town boiled with women.' Each one of the women who came found a
card at her place which said, 'I am in sympathy with the enforcement of
the law. I can work.' We rounded those women up into an enormous
committee, and each one went back to her district and did what she
could. That was the first step. After that we stormed the news-
papers. Don't think that letters do not count. I am a newspaper woman
and I say this to you in all seriousness: Letters from responsible
women are a tremendous influence in any newspaper office. One hun-
dred letters from one hundred voters and tax-payers will carry what-
ever points those women are trying to carry. We ended our campaign
two days before election with that thoroughly horrible experience — a
street march! It is a terrible thing to contemplate, it is a glorious
thing to do. You don't walk, you float! We hoped to get seven hun-
dred women in our march, and it rose to seven thousand. We started
at ten o'clock at the Ferry Building and walked a short mile. They
cleared the streets for us. We had two bands and some carriages.
Most of us walked. It seemed to have a psychological effect upon the
people and the press, that was incalculable. That night the wets staged
a parade in which a large truck full of beer barrels was represented
with 'Columbia' the figure of our liberty and our nation riding on
those barrels. We carried the state, broke up the fifty thousand rock-
bottom wet majority, and added thirty-five thousand dry votes to Cali-
fornia's usual vote. California adopted a state enforcement code.
California went dry." The Woman's Committee, including thou-
sands of white-ribboners, by its far-reaching publicity, make it
known that Mrs. Willebrandt, Assistant Attorney General of the
United States, says: "The Eighteenth Amendment is a part of the Con-
stitution made so by the same legal steps, although by a far greater
number of states and legislative majorities, than the fourth, fifth,
fourteenth and fifteenth amendments which every bootlegger claims for
his protection while breaking the Eighteenth Amendment."
Three influential lawyers of Connecticut and New York City, the
loyal sons of a white ribbon mother, are the authority for the follow-
ing hisorical facts: The general court of Connecticut held April
160
The Eighteenth Amendment
5, 1638, adopted eleven articles known as the Fundamental Orders.
This was the oldest of American constitutions. It was the guide in
the formation of the constitutions adopted by sister states as well as
a foundation later for the Federal Constitution and the system of
representation in the American republic.
The following is a beautiful concept of national and international
law which is found in "The Laws of Eccleslasticall Politie," written in
1554 to 1600, and dedicated to Richard Hooker, the founder of Con-
necticut :
"O law, there can be no less acknowledged than that her seat is
the bosom of God, her voice the harmony of the world ; all things do her
homage. The very least has felt her care; and the greatest is not
exempt from her power ; both angels and men and creatures of what con-
dition soever, though each in different sort and manner, yet all with
uniform consent admiring her as the mother of their peace and joy."
A generation later, with the same high appreciation of order and
harmony, Abraham Lincoln said: "Let reverence for the law be
breathed by every American mother to the lisping babe that prattles
on her lap; let it be taught in schools, in seminaries and in colleges;
let it be written in primers, spelling books and in almanacs; let it be
preached from the pulpits, proclaimed in legislative halls and en-
forced in Courts of Justice and in short, let it become the political re-
ligion of the nation, and let the old and the young, the rich and the
poor, the grave and the gay, of all the sexes and tongues and colors
and conditions sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars."
161
CHAPTER VIII
The Nineteenth Amendment
The passage by the United States Congress of the Nineteenth
Amendment (the Susan B. Anthony Bill) in May, 1919, and its rati-
fication in September, 1920, giving the women the right to vote on
equal terms vuith men, caused great rejoicing among the new electorate.
W. C. T. U. women were especially jubilant over the Nineteenth
Amendment for it passed Congress at the psychological moment to help
the enforcement of the Eighteenth Amendment. The leaders of the
liquor trade who for more than two decades have so bitterly fought
all woman suffrage measures were in consternation.
This victory for women ended a seventy years' campaign of agita-
tion in which the Woman's Christian Temperance Union had a mighty
part. The text of the Amendment (Susan B. Anthony) reads: "The
right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not he denied by
the United States or by any state on account of sex." This bill was
presented by the Hon. Jeannette Rankin of Montana — the fortieth
time the measure had been introduced. For the first time, a woman
was sponsor in Congress for any bill — and this was a measure giv-
ing equality of citizenship to her sex. At that period, there were ten
million women of voting age in the United States. Susan B. Anthony
and Lucy Stone were pioneer workers together for this bill. The
writer, recalling the elderly, benignant face and strong, womanly
personality of Lucy Stone (Blackwell) can scarcely believe the truth
of an incident occurring in Lucy Stone's early career, often related
by her in the later and happier years. A Boston clergyman was asked
to give a pulpit notice of a lecture soon to be given by this unafraid
pioneer, and announced that on such a date in a certain Boston hall,
"a hen would crow!"
In the height of prohibition and suflFrage campaigns, Frances Wil-
lard and Anna Gordon were frequent visitors at the office of The
Woman's Journal on Park Street, Boston, Massachusetts, where, in
converse with Lucy Stone, Henry Blackwell and their white ribbon
daughter (Alice Stone Blackwell) then a student at Boston University',
there were witty scintillations and constructive argumentations — a
plenty. Speaking at a suffrage hearing on Beacon Hill often was on
Miss Willard's program, and also conferences with such elect spirit^
162
The Nineteenth Amendment
as Dr. and Mrs. Joseph Cook, Rev. Edward Everett Hale and Bishop
Phillips Brooks. It is well to recall this galaxy of forward-looking
friends who in the 'effete East' bravely and gaily battled for woman's
emancipation.
Early in its history, under the leadership of Frances Willard, the
National W. C. T. U. made public sentiment for woman sufErage —
as a temperance measure. At the national convention held in 1875,
forty-nine years ago, this courageous resolution was passed: "Since
women are among the greatest sufferers from the liquor traffic, and
realizing that it is ultimately to be suppressed by means of the ballot,
we, the Christian women of this land in convention assembled, do
pray Almighty God, and good and true men, that the question of the
prohibition of the liquor traffic should be submitted to all adult citizens
irrespective of race, color or sex."
Commenting, in her autobiography on these early days, Miss Wil-
lard says: "In 1875, I remember writing a declaration to this efifect:
'Resolved, that since woman is the greatest sufferer from the rum curse,
she ought to have power to close the dramshop door over against her
home.' I told the women that I had no home in that word's highest
and most sacred sense, and I never would in this world, although I
hope to in a better ; and that if I could brave an adverse public opinion
for the sake of other women's homes, surely they could do so. for the
sake of their home. These words I could hardly speak for the ache
in heart and throat, and I saw tears in many a gentle woman's eyes
as I made my simple plea."
In 1876, at the National W. C. T. U. Convention held in New-
ark, New Jersey, Frances Willard encountered decided opposition to
her appeal for woman's ballot — as a temperance measure. A lady from
New York, gray-haired and dignified, who was presiding the night
Miss Willard made her first public plea for woman's ballot, said to the
audience: "The National W. C. T. U. is not responsible for the
utterances of this evening. We have no mind to trail our skirts in the
mire of politics." As Frances Willard left the church, one of the
chief women bitterly said to her: ''You might have been a leader in
our national councils, but you have deliberately chosen to be only a
scout." Miss Willard, however, was not dismayed, for she knew that
the majority of the audience, though timid, really sj'mpathized with her,
163
Women Torc h - b e arer s
The white-ribboners who courageously promoted sentiment for
woman's ballot, were building better than they knew. They were de-
claring not only for the cause of temperance, but for "the diviner
womanhood that should bring in the era of sweeter manners, purer
laws! for the mighty forces which should level up, not down, and
which should draw manhood up to woman's standard of purity in the
personal conduct of life."
In 1877, at the Chicago Convention, this resolution received the
majority vote: "As the responsibility of the training of the children
and youth rests largely upon woman, she ought to be allowed to open
or close the rum-shop door over against her home." In April, 1878,
supported by the organization, Frances Willard sent a memorial to Con-
gress asking the Senators and Representatives to recommend such
legislation as would, in the District of Columbia, and the territories,
make legal the sale of intoxicating liquors as a beverage, only when
the majority of the men by their votes and the women by their sig-
natures, should ask that such sale might be legalized.
In presenting this memorial, Miss Willard said: "First among
the powerful and controlled instincts of our nature, stands that of
self-preservation, and next to that, if, indeed, it should not take superior
rank, comes that of mother-love. It is as deep and resistless as the
tides of the sea. The stronghold of the rum power lies in the fact that
it has upon its side two of the most powerful of human appetites — in the
dealer, the appetite for gain ; and in the drinker, the appetite for stimu-
lants. As God has provided in nature an antidote for every poison,
and a compensation for every loss, so in human society He has or-
dained against alcohol — that worst foe of the social state, an enemy,
beneath whose blows it is to bite the dust. Brothers, there is not one
of you to whom some woman's life is not a dear and sacred thing."
At the national convention held the same year in Baltimore, Mary-
land, Frances Willard, referring to this memorial, called it the Home
Protection Petition, Speaking in heart-to-heart fashion, she related to
the assembly this personal experience: "The thought of the Home
Protection came to me on my knees one Sunday morning in the room of
a veteran Crusader in Columbus, Ohio. I knew it meant criticism,
but I acted according to my conscience and my light. A Baltimore lady
said to me yesterday, 'Persimmons are nice when they are ripe, but they
pucker the mouth when they are green.' This Home Protection Peti-
164
cJirs. Deborah Knox Uyingstofi
iMrsJrances MOrahanL
Qj^frs. Mary Hurris Armor Catharine Wau^hM^CiUloch
The Nineteenth Amendment
tion IS a green persimmon in Maryland, but, my friends, it is a ripe
one yonder on the prairies, and you surely wouldn't forbid us to gather
and partake of it."
Several years later, Frances Willard found a strong friend in the
famous astronomer, Maria Mitchell, who gave her a "Home Protection"
audience at the National Woman's Congress. At the same national
convention, Hannah Whitall Smith of Philadelphia, always progressive,
stated her view-point as follows: "The commission has come to some of
us, in a heavenly vision, that God is preparing the Christian women of
this country to wield a weapon in our warfare against the liquor traffic
which will be by far the most effectual weapon God has yet given us."
In 1881, a committee on 'Tranchise," consisting of Frances Willard,
Mary Livermore and J. Ellen Foster, was appointed. In 1882 the de-
partment of Franchise was formally adopted, with Mary Clement
Leavitt as national superintendent. Mrs. Zerelda Wallace succeeded
Mrs. Leavitt in 1883, and following her, the national superintendents
have been: Rev, Anna H. Shaw, Mrs. Theresa A. Jenkins, Dr. Louise
C. Purington, Miss Marie C. Brehm, Mrs. Ella S. Stewart, Dr. Maude
Mcllvain Sanders and Mrs. Deborah Knox Livingston.
With the complete enfranchisement of women, the department of
Suffrage was merged into that of Christian Citizenship, and led by the
inspiring National W. C. T. U. director, Mrs. Deborah Knox Livings-
ton suffrage sentiment in the W. C. T. U. swept onward. "We have
come to the day of a new dream," said Mrs. Livingston, "the dream
of a better America, in which democracy is a religion, rather than a
quasi-fiction of government; in which love of country is a supreme pas-
sion; in which the duties of citizenship are co-equal with the privileges
of citizens. The W. C. T. U., because of its methods of organization
and the personnel of its membership, seems to be the best equipped of all
national organizations of women to make American citizens of our
foreign-born women. In our ranks are ewlisted professional women,
industrial W9men, and women of the farm. In other words, our mem-
bership is drawn from all classes of society.
One of the most fascinating stories of the development of 'the
woman movement' is that of woman's struggle for educational
privileges and advantages on equal terms with men. One hundred
years ago the term 'higher education' had no meaning for women.
165
Women Torc h - b barer s
Even in Colonial days the grammar and elementary school were in-
tended only for the education of boys. Seventy-five years ago there
was not a single college for women in our country, and not one of the
men's colleges had opened its doors to the other sex. In Northampton,
Mass., to-day the seat of the largest college for girls in our Republic,
it was voted at a town meeting in the early eighteenth century that no
town money be appropriated for the education of girls. Now more
girls than boys graduate from public schools, and the tremendous growth
in the last seventy-five years in the education of women is one of the
marvels of the woman movement."
Many readers of this history have been privileged to hear Frances
Willard tell this incident of her early days on the farm. She revelled
in it with keen delight! "When I was a child," she said, "my father
returned one night to Forest Home in Wisconsin. Sitting by my
mother's chair, I listened to their conversation. With a good deal of
spirit, father told of the encouraging news about Neal Dow and the
fight for prohibition in Maine. He ended by saying, 'I wonder if poor,
rum-cursed Wisconsin will ever get a law like that?' I was much im-
pressed as I saw mother silently rocking in her dear old chair before
she gently said, 'Yes, Josiah, there'll be such a law all over the land
some day when women vote.' Father looked at mother with astonish-
ment, and in a keen rather sarcastic voice said, 'And pray, how will
you arrange it so that women shall vote?' Mother's chair moved a
little faster as she looked into the flickering flames of the grate and
slowly answered, 'Weil, Josiah, I say to you as the Apostle Paul said to
his jailer, "You have put us into prison, we being Romans, and you
must come and take us out!" ' "
At the age of twenty-one, Oliver Willard, the only son of the
Willard family, went with his father to cast his first ballot. Frances,
then a girl of sixteen, watching from the window with her younger
sister, their departure to the polls, turned to Mary, and with an ache
in her heart, said: "Don't you wish we could go with them when we
are old enough? Don't we love our country just as well as they do?"
and Mary, just a little scared said, "Yes, of course we ought. Don't
I know that? But you mustn't tell a soul — not mother, even, or we
should be called strong-minded."
Working in its own way, but in co-operation with other women's
organizations, the W. C. T. U. brought conviction on this controversial
166
The Nineteenth Amendment
subject to many conservative home, church and missionary women vi^ho
turned their backs, as well as their consciences, on the seemingly "bold
advocates" of "woman's rights."
The wonderful spirit that dominated them is illustrated by this
serio-comic incident: The Indiana W. C. T. U. appealed to the state
legislature for a law that would protect the young from the ravages of
the liquor traffic. This petition was signed by 20,000 influential
women, including the wives and mothers of many substantial men of the
state. In a tirade against the bill that was introduced, the youngest
member of the house vehemently said: "I understand that this bill is
backed by a petition of 20,000 women; but, gentlemen, the signatures
of 20,000 women in this state mean no more to us than the signatures
of 20,000 mice." This egotistical dictum go stirred Indiana's great-
heart, Mrs. Zerelda Wallace, the step-mother of Gen. Lew Wallace,
author of "Ben Hur," that she decided to devote her life to bettering
the political standing of women.
In the old Colonial days it was New England that set the nation's
pace. It is well to recall the fact that the pilgrim foremothers, as
well as the pilgrim forefathers, were founders of a race. Westward
their descendants went. Beyond the Rockies, and in the Middle West
the women who helped the men conquer the wilderness were chivalrous-
ly given a voice in the affairs of state. Certain western states began
to show the benefits coming from woman suffrage, and the women of
the east slowly learned that "a force which when indirect, is helpful,
will be more helpful when it becomes direct; for the most benignant
and pervasive force in human life will not change in character when
to its indirect power it adds the concentrated force of woman's ballot."
In the northwest, one of the earliest leading suffragists and white
ribboners was Mrs. Elizabeth Boynton Harbert, editor of the "Woman's
Kingdom" in the Chicago Inter-Ocean. Later, Miss Mary Allen West
and Mrs. Susanna M, D, Fry were live wires.
Miss Jane Addams, the noted sociologist and the distinguished
head of Hull House, in speaking a decade ago, declared: "At the
beginning of civilization, women were the originators of some of the
greatest trades. The great trades which women discovered are agricul-
ture, building, architecture, spinning, weaving, sewing, tanning, pottery
and cooking. It was not by accident that the primitive women stumbled
upon the paths leading to civilization. Necessity spurred their minds
167
Women Torc h - b barer s
to activity. Their physical weakness and offspring kept them from the
chase, but their minds were illumined instead by the discoveries which
they made."
When Harriet Martineau visited America in 1840, she put it upon
record that she found but seven employments open to women, namely,
teaching, needlework, keeping boarders, washing for the operatives in
cotton mills, typesetting, work in bookbinderies, and household service.
Miss Addams, in 1912, optimistically viewed the suffrage situation
when she said: "Whether or not the voters in a given community ex-
press themselves in favor of equal suffrage cannot impede its progress.
The future historian will merely be able to read whether or not the
voters in that city or state were at a given mom.ent sensitive to the
democratic movement of that time or indifferent to it. The forward pro-
gress of the world is a steam roller which only the blind are willing to
oppose." In rural districts as well as in the large cities women did
their "bit." In a certain community in the conservative state of Maine
the voteless women were in the habit of picking blueberries in hot July
weather, to earn money with which to pay their husband's poll taxes.
These women remind one of the cheerful giver of holy writ. Cheerful in
that connection really means hilarious. How still more hilarious today
are these dutiful wives as they use some of their blueberry money to
pay their own poll taxes!
In 1880, at the invitation of the Brooklyn W. C. T. U., Rev. Henry
Ward Beecher, made his first speech in favor of woman suffrage. He
said in part, "It's a thundering fact! I am ashamed to say that while
enthusiasm is never wanting on the part of the saloon-keepers for the
work of the devil, we never can get up enthusiasm for the w^ork of the
churches. Instead of giving out the heat of a common flame, they are
like scattered brands, but the enemy is organized. It is a shame and an
outrage that it should be so, but it is. I have something new to say
about women. I am going to announce a heresy. For the cause of
religion, morality and temperance, I plead the right of women to vote."
Later, at a W. C. T. U. meeting arranged for Frances Willard in
Plymouth Church, Mr. Beecher presided. He escorted Miss Willard to
the platform, and after introducing her, asked if he might sit beside his
wife in the audience, saying, "I almost never get the chance to do so in
this church, you see." When Miss Willard had finished, he walked
up the steps smiling, pointing toward the lecturer as he came, and then
168
The Nineteenth Amendment
turning to the audience said in his dramatic way, "And yet — she cannot
vote! Aren't you ashamed, men, that this should be?"
In recounting this remarkable episode, Miss Willard said: '1
had spoken strongly in favor of prohibition as the best method of deal-
ing with the liquor traffic, and Mr. Beecher said distinctly, 'Not a word
has been uttered but that we all know to be just and true and right.'
His first temperance speech when he was an Amherst collegian, was in
favor of a law against the liquor traffic. After these tv\'o sermons, in
a sentence he proceeded to make a collection speech that outdid all I ever
heard elsewhere for wit and wisdom. Of course, everybody stayed
through, and the baskets came back actually full — I have never seen
them thus except on that occasion."
As early as 1883, Rev. Joseph Cook of Boston declared himself
in favor of woman suffrage, and made this revolutionary statement:
"The five great powers of modern society," he said, "are not England,
Russia, Austria, Germany and France, but the parlor, the pulpit, the
press, politics, and the police." And as the leader of these marshalled
powers, he emphasized the parlor, which might, if it would, control
all the rest.
In one of her early lecture tours, Mary Livermore, after giving
a logical suffrage address to a large audience, talked with an intelligent
brewer who said: "When you give women the right to vote, a prohib-
itory amendment is sure to follow, and women haven't a grain of
sense on the temperance question. They are crazy fanatics on that sub-
ject, and they will not stop till the whole liquor business is destroyed
root and branch." After the amendment bill for suffrage was sub-
mitted, to the states, the liquor organizations spent thousands of dollars
to defeat it at the polls. In secret circulars sent to their henchmen,
the distillers and brewers emphatically declared that women, if given
the ballot, would vote out the saloons and utterly destroy the liquor
business.
Just as in the campaigns for prohibition, so in the public discus-
sions for woman suffrage, argument was met with argument. "How
much simpler it would be," declared Anna Shaw, "if the women, in-
stead of spending all their time trying to boost up the men could go
to the ballot-box and vote like men — exactly as the women In the
parliament of Finland have been able, not only to influence the Finnish
parliament, but to cast their votes in the interests of the prohibition
169
Women Torc h- b barer s
measures which the women of Finland everywhere desired to have
passed. Talk to women about keeping the children off the street!
What can a man be thinking of who stands out in the street and look-
ing over across the street sees his own door open and one of his own
children putting his head out, and then stands shooing him back, saying
'Go back, go back to your mother's home; don't dare to come out on
your father's street, for if you do you are lost, and if you are lost ir
isn't your father's fault, it is your mother's fault for letting you out.'
Now, that is the cry which we women all over this country have heard.
If the men could make the streets safe and clean without women and
still will not do it, then the women under God are bound to go out
and help the men to make them clean, for if there is any right which
a woman has under God, it is the right to protect her children from any
form of degradation and vice legalized, or unlegalized,
"God laid upon women the obligation of motherhood and child rear-
ing. It is the business of mothers to rise up and protest against the for-
ces which will prevent the mother from protecting her child. If there
is any crime greater than another perpetrated by a great Christian
country, it is the curse of protecting the business which destroys all
the life's work of a mother. It is the right, and ought to be the pur-
pose of every woman of this country to demand every ounce of power
which will enable her to do for her children the very best and noblest
service. The distiller is armed with the ballot, the brewer is armed
with the ballot, the saloonkeeper is armed with the ballot, the bar-
tender is armed with the ballot, the drunkard — the male drunkard — is
armed with the ballot. The home maker, the child rearer, is powerless
against such a foe without the ballot which determines political condi-
tions in this country, and it is the crime of our day."
Among the young women who, in the early years, believed in woman
suffrage was Mary E. McDowell. Miss McDowell had the courage to
organize W. C. T. U. work for young women in Evanston and Chicago,
and she also gave social prestige to the evening gatherings over which
she presided often — in her parents' hospitable home. Later, Miss
McDowell became the head of the Chicago University Settlement, and
ever since has been a well-known power in the civic life of the met-
ropolis. In all the reforms she has instituted, she has upheld the prin-
ciples of a white-ribboner. Soon after starting the settlement work in
170
The Nineteenth Amendment
the stock yards district, she instituted measures for reducing the death
rate of the babies of the neighborhood.
It is interesting to see the influence woman's ballot had in giving
Miss McDowell the victory in a notable campaign. For nearly twenty
years she fought against the city's dumping its garbage into the deep
holes made in her neighborhood by excavating clay for the manufacture
of brick. The owners of the "clay holes" received large incomes by
renting these "holes' to the city. Garbage by the hundreds of tons
was dumped into them and little ones died like flies from the diseases
bred from the decomposing offal. The impetus of the struggle against
the city's system of handling garbage carried Miss McDowell to
Europe, which she visited in 1911 to study European systems of the
disposal of city refuse. For two years after her return she conducted
a city-wide campaign for the scientific study of garbage disposal by
municipal commission. When the state of Illinois gave women the
ballot, she won her fight and the commission was appointed and made
its survey. Miss McDowell is now the City Commissioner of Public
Welfare — the only woman member of the mayor's cabinet. This is
a department of municipal social service. In speaking on the subject of
garbage, this story wittily reflecting on the aristocratic "Boston-ese,"
is one Miss McDowell enjoys telling: A recent arrival in a city of
the middle west, a lady from Boston, entered a leading emporium and
asked for "a refuse chalice." The salesman, nothing daunted, imme-
diately handed her a garbage pail. "How did you know what the cus-
tomer wanted?" later he was asked. "Oh," he replied laughingly, "I
saw that she 'must have come from Boston, for I once lived there long
enough to learn the refined language of the Back Bay district."
In the later years of the nineteenth century many victories for
women were seen. Catharine Waugh McCuUoch, of Evanston, Illi-
nois, the legal advisor of the National W. C. T. U. is a Master in
Chancery. Four times, each time for a period of two years, the judges
of the Superior Court have given Mrs. McCuUoch this important ap-
pointment. It will be recalled that she was the first woman in the
United States to win an election as Justice of the Peace. Mrs. McCul-
loch strongly urges W. C. T. U. women to "crusade in the court room."
"The white-ribbon," she says, "strikes terror to evil doers!" Mary
Bartelme is the first woman to be elected a judge of the Circuit Court
of Cook County, Illinois — a district of 'three million people and the
171
Women Torc h - be arer s
largest that ever elected a woman to such an office. In Ohio, a promi-
nent woman lawyer, Florence Allen, has been elected a judge of the
Superior Court. These women judges co-operate with the W. C. T. U.
"When we women are fully enfranchised," said Mrs. McCuUoch,
"we will elect judges and clerks who are true to their duty. If we had
one honest and intelligent judge in every precinct of every community
in the United States, fraud would be impossible. When the women
have the vote all over this country, those people who have exploited
child workers, those who are cornering the food markets when many
are starving, those who break laws made to safeguard the community,
in that day the great army of women voters will be like unto an army
of Jehovah."
One of the good W. C. T. U, women who served on juries in
Washington territory, and always got complimented by the judge for
doing her duty, has sent her fees to the National W. C. T. U. treasury
— a good example to follow!
Mrs. Thomas Edison, the daughter of an original Ohio Crusader
and of Lewis Miller of Chautauqua fame, recalls the days when her
mother, with other dauntless women, visited the saloons and pleaded
with the men to close their doors. They were subjected to insult and
had buckets of water thrown over them, "When I look back to those
days," Mrs. Edison writes, "and note the growth of our great cause, I
cannot be discouraged. I am proud to remember that my father was
one of the pioneer advocates of woman suffrage."
Julia C. Lathrop, first director of the Federal Children's Bureau,
said: "Not so-called anti-suffragists, but the liquor interests are the
worst opponents of woman suffrage. Over forty years of education
and agitation by the W. C. T. U. helped to give this nation a Federal
Child Bureau."
The contagion of the ballot for women reached even the children.
In a state amendment campaign, a manly Loyal Temperance Legion boy
distributed ballots and leaflets. He saw the mother-hearted leader weep
when brewers and distillers won, and the flag of our country protected
their places of business. Charlie was not a mere looker-on — he was
in it, and was himself a part of this battle for the protection of the
home instead of the saloon. Going with his little sister to their leader,
he said earnestly, "Please don't feel so sorry. When I grow up I'll
vote the saloons away, and Mary will vote, too."
172
The Nineteenth Amendment
Many leaders, interviewed by politicians seeking office are being
asked what women voters most want. In substance, the answer received
is one suggested by Mrs. Ella A. Boole: "If you want the women to
vote for your party, give them a platform they can endorse and candi-
dates for whom they do not have to apologize." After four years of
suffrage, many women previously conservative, are so happily at home
in the use of the ballot, that observers are reminded of that irresistibly
funny little picture that two decades ago went the rounds of the illus-
trated papers. It was a chicken with a little of the shell he had just
left still clinging to his back, and looking down at the broken prison
from which he had just pecked his way out, he was made to say with a
great gravity, "Nobody can ever convince me that I've been in there."
In Illinois, in the first encounter of white ribboners with the liquor
trade — after women were given the ballot — the victorious result was
announced in these rhythmic lines: "Mary had a little vote. That
roamed the state about ; And everywhere that vote went in, John Barley-
corn went out." Now, women voters in both states and nation are
giving to the lawless liquor element more unwelcome information about
"Mary." There is nothing obscure about this versified challenge:
Mary has a little vote
That keeps our nation dry;
It jumps right over party lines
Ask nullifiers why.
It serves America so well —
It "follows her^' you know —
That nullifiers sadly learn
Where Mary's vote will go.
The gratitude of W. C. T. U. women toward brotherly men in pro-
fessional and business life, who have given them the ballot, is bound-
less. It must not be forgotten, however, that Petruchio, that famous
creation of Shakespeare, is still at large. He said of his wife: "She is
my goods, my chattels. She is my house, my household furniture, my
field, my barn — my anything." Today, the man like-minded with
Petruchio, is the unscrupulous politician — the ''masculinity complex."
Susan B. Anthony, in her later years when asked if she were not
tired of shaking hands, answered that she was not more so than when
there were no hands to shake. This pathetic and characteristic state-
173
Women Torc h - b barer s
ment of a warrior-soul is a revealing one. It visualizes the hardships,
the controversies, the weariness of body, if not of soul, of the long
struggle for woman's emancipation.
When, in the past, problems pressed and perplexed white-ribboners,
they found that the only way out was to advance. Going forward
into the dark, light has come. Their example is commended to those
who now without experience, are saying, "What shall we do who carry
the fray for civilization on today?" Women in public life, delegates
to recent national political conventions, many of them white-ribboners,
have amazed old school politicians by their high purposes. The spirit
of the marching mothers of the Crusade have been in them. Take the
testimony of a noted woman author who gives a vivid account of the
Women who assembled for conference at one of the political conventions.
This is the pen picture in brief:
"The women delegates of the north and the south fighting a common
enemy chanted, 'In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the
sea, with a glory in his bosom which transfigures you and me. As he
died to make men holy let us die to make men free, His cause is march-
ing on.' Then with zealous inspiration a woman went down on her
knees and lifted her voice in prayer. *God give us strength,' she plead.
A younger woman took up her word. Woman after woman followed
as men, veterans of many a political campaign, crowded into the door-
way, stricken by wonder at this most amazing spectacle. 'If the women
take politics this way,' a former state governor whispered, 'we might
as well go back to our farm. We cannot stay in the game with them
on these terms.' 'It's a children's crusade,' said a great lawyer. 'They
are setting out for a Jerusalem of faith without even a leader. They
may not get there, but their going will light the torch for those who
will.' Such must have been the spirit of those women who went
through Ohio years gone by, kneeling in the streets before the saloon.
Out of their praying came two Constitutional amendments, the
Eighteenth and Nineteenth." Is there not great reason for rejoicing
that over the women of this republic a great wave of political crusading
fervor is sweeping?
Mrs. Margaret B. Piatt, who has given, in Washington by the
Atlantic, and in Washington by the Pacific, superb white ribbon serv-
ice, asks these significant questions: "What manner of mothers shall
tomorrow give us? Are changed conditions to bring us changed ideals
174
The Nineteenth Amendment
of womanhood? Will the man of the future as he searches back in the
mind's treasures to the throne-room of his childhood, find in the chief
place there, one in true womanly guise, gentle and tender, pure and
loving, yet clothed with dignity and strength and courage, fully able
to guide the high-strung, youthful spirits 'along life's treacherous high-
way?' Will the words of God and the evening prayer at mother's knee
linger as sweet perfume in memory's chalice? Will he say with an-
other: 'I see you oft, in my dreams at night, and vou whisper soft,
"My child, do right." ' "
Was it not in God's plan that woman, the born conservator of the
home, should prove the Nemesis of the arch enemy of the home, alcohol ?
175
CHAPTER IX
Our Golden Jubilee
In this Jubilee Year, this year of our Lord, 1924, the W. C. T. U.
gratefully chronicles a golden history, a golden present and prophesies
a golden future. A half century ago, in 1874, the National Woman's
Christian Temperance Union was organized. Today it is a mighty host
with a membership of half a million and a large following of co-operat-
ing, home-loving women. In the last fifty or one hundred years, how
wonderfully the point of view in regard to the liquor traffic has
changed ! An incident that occurred during the administration of John
Quincy Adams, President of the United States, illustrates this. In
1825, while Mr. Adams was campaigning one day near Worcester,
Massachusetts, greatly to his surprise there came to meet him and his
mounted escort, a winsome young matron, who in order to reach him,
had ridden sixty miles on horseback. Courteously addressing the Presi-
dent, this young mother earnestly plead that for the sake of her husband
and three young children he would work for the outlawing of the liquor
traffic. With characteristic chivalry, Mr. Adams told the anxious
mother how much he appreciated her solicitude but said most emphat-
ically, "Madam, what you ask is an impossibility. I might as well expect
to legislate against the winds and the tides as to try to prohibit the legal-
ized liquor traffic." This was the sincere opinion of a President who
was one of the most able among American statesmen of the old school —
a lavyyer and a diplomat. Today, a man of such a mental make-up
could not be elected United States President. The "impossible" has
been accomplished. In 1874, a multitude of devoted, daring women
from all over the land came to the aid of the children and children's
children of that devoted, daring mother. Even the "winds and the tides"
of the legalized liquor traffic had to obey the behest of these crusading
women. The W. C. T. U. of this golden Jubilee Year is patriotically
declaring, "Allegiance to the Constitution" — the Constitution of a gov-
ernment that has outlawed the legalized liquor traffic. White-ribbon
women also rejoice in the United States Supreme Court, whose deci-
sions have ever been in favor of sobriety and justice; and in a United
States Congress that by a large majority is strong for the observance
and the enforcement of law. One hundred and twenty million free
people are benefited by Federal prohibition. Nine-tenths of the homes
176
GENERAL OFFICERS NATIONAL W. C. T. U., 1924
Anna A. Gordon, Pres.; (in center). Ella A. Boole, Vice-Pres.; (at top).
Frances P. Parks, Cor. Sec; (left to right). Margaret C. Munns, Treas.;
Elizabeth P. Anderson, Rec. Sec; Sara H. Hoge, Ass't. Rec Sec.
Our Golden Jubilee
are enjoying unprecedented prosperity. The President of the United
States, the majority of governors, and a large per cent of the electorate
are supporting the law enforcement program of the Federal Prohibition
Commissioner. Surely never before has the vision of the W. C. T. U.
been so fully realized. In the customs of society and in the laws of the
land the Crusaders' dream of fifty years ago, is becoming a reality.
In 1919, in preparation for the year of Jubilee, 1924, the Na-
tional W. C. T. U. entered upon a five year intensive drive for money
and members. It was a noble resolve, heroically carried out. The
story, in outline, follows: It was in 1915, at the national convention
held in Seattle, Washington, that the national president, Anna Gordon,
introduced the plan for a Jubilee celebration. "In 1924," she said, "will
come the Jubilee Year of the National Woman's Christian Temperance
Union. I recommend the appointment of a committee to lay founda-
tion plans for a fitting observance of the fiftieth year of our organiza-
tion— plans that shall include the raising of a thank-offering Jubilee
Fund. By request, Miss Gordon appointed the following committee:
Mrs. Deborah Knox Livingston, Mrs. Lenna Lowe Yost, Mrs. Paul
Raymond, Mrs. William F. McDowell, and Mrs. C. P. Lindsay. In
1918, Mrs. Livingston, chairman of the committee, in consultation with
the national general officers, having recommended a campaign for a
million dollars and a million members, it was decided to begin at once
the financial drive. Mrs. Elizabeth Perkins, of Michigan, was invited
to come to National W. C. T. U. headquarters as the executive secre-
tary for the intensive campaign.
Mrs. Perkins co-operated with the national treasurer, Mrs. Mar-
garet C. Munns, the state, county, and local key-women; the ten na-
tional field representatives, as well as with the ten members of the
National Jubilee Committee. A quota of Jubilee money to be raised,
based on membership, was given to each state, the time limit for all
being from March 20, 1919, to March 20, 1920. The budget of
$1,000,000 was to cover the following activities: Child Welfare, Health
and Social Morality, Americanization, Women in Industry, Education
and Information, World Prohibition, Headquarters (Evanston and
Washington), Equipment and Repairs, Field Service and Administra-
tion. In the forceful campaign for the Jubilee Fund, Mrs. Elizabeth
Perkins was in daily consultation with the resident general officers. Ably
assisted by the editor of THE UNION SIGNAL, she issued from
177
Women To rc h - b e arer s
week to week through the official organ, informing, strong, convincing
appeals.
When the drive for a million dollars approached completeness, the
appeal for 1,000,000 members secured the right of way. It was in
the spring of 1920 that the national corresponding secretary, Mrs.
Parks, who ingeniously sponsored the campaign for a million members
in 1924, first sent out the membership campaign plans. This Jubilee
call was extended to every mother, every teacher and every church
member. "Alone, we can do little ; united, we become batteries of
power."
"Be a million-aire," was Mrs. Parks' appeal. "Count one," she said.
"You need the Woman's Christian Temperance Union! and the Wom-
an's Christian Temperance Union needs you! You need the W. C.
T. U. to help secure the high type of education in your community,
state and nation ; further wise, and prevent unwise, legislation ; awaken
intelligent enthusiasm for the privileges and responsibilities of citizen-
ship; uplift and protect child life; meet the colossal appeal for higher
standards of social morality and health ; educate public sentiment in
reverence for law; uphold the Eighteenth Amendment. The W. C.
T. U. needs you to help emphasize the value of total abstinence ; build
public sentiment for the retention and enforcement of national and state
prohibition laws; enlist the aid of all women in industrial circles in
holding prohibition ; teach foreign-born mothers the value of total
abstinence and to understand the spirit of the Eighteenth Amendment;
line up all women in a systematic study of the duties of citizenship ;
publish abroad the beneficial results of prohibition ; work for world
peace, purity and prohibition." How naturally one drive helped the
other! Experienced workers in the financial drive already in the field
found that it was dollars received that made it possible to plan con-
ferences and campaigns in which more dollars came in — this time each
Jubilee dollar meaning a Jubilee member.
At the present time, through the energetic co-operation of the state
W. C. T. U. presidents, nearly all the state unions have completed
their assigned quotas for the Jubilee Fund. Each state retains in its
treasury, ten per cent to cover the cost of the campaign. From the
offices of the corresponding secretary and treasurer there have been
sent out each year, special Jubilee Fund and membership appeal leaf-
178
Our Golden Jubilee
lets that have caused many to join the W. C. T, U. women in their
March of Allegiance to the Constitution of the United States,
It was during this period of activity that an ardent advocate of
prohibition, a gentleman from Switzerland, in his search for facts
regarding the success of prohibition in the United States, visited Na-
tional W. C. T. U. headquarters. He had heard, as he journeyed
through the United States, wild tales of the utter failure of pro-
hibition and even from some of its friends, a doleful prophecy that
it probably would have to be modiBed because it could not be en-
forced. Of course, such an absurd statement had been denied by
advocates of prohibition who really understood the situation and he
had been informed that the United States never would abandon its
dry law. But the contradictory statement troubled him, and he wanted
some indisputable evidence that he might carry back to his home to
assure his people that America had not really backslid in the fight
for its anti-liquor law. In the course of his tour of inspection of the
headquarters building, he came to the room of the National W. C.
T. U. corresponding secretary, Mrs. Frances P. Parks, where hangs
the wonderful W. C. T. U. membership map which strikingly visual-
izes the local unions in each state — black pins showing the unions of
long-standing, and red pins, the new ones that have been organized
since the inauguration of the membership campaign of 1920. In some
areas the pins are in exceedingly close proximity.
When this map was explained to him, the visitor cried with en-
thusiasm, "There is my answer; there is the proof I long have sought
that America will not give up prohibition ; that it will keep right on
fighting for better enforcement and never let go of what it has won.
This map shows something definite and tangible — it is proof that
the women of your nation are determined to keep prohibition. Now,
I can return to my home and tell my friends that I KNOW AMERI-
CA WILL NOT GO BACK." Above the map is the statement, "Ten
thousand local unions are engaged in the Jubilee membership campaign
to mobilize a million women. This map shows where they are."
In a mid-west town of probably thirty-five thousand homes, an
active union decided on a membership drive. At four in the mornrng
on the appointed day, a committee appeared at the local dairies and
attached to the milk bottles for morning delivery, a notification that
the local union of G would that day open a membership drive.
179
Women Torc h - b barer s
and requested a courteous reception of the lady who would follow the
milk bottle. Mrs. Frances Parks, who tells this story, remarks hap-
pily, "Needless to say, there was a big membership increase in that
union."
A festive, colorful feature of the 1923 membership drive was its
culminating celebration on July 21, of the birthday anniversary of
the national president — a red letter day. Miss Gordon received a
delightful surprise. Twenty-five thousand new "Allegiance" members
suddenly appeared in her office, converting it into a bower of loveli-
ness— thanks to Mrs. Parks' clever decorative scheme. These in-
visible guests were impersonated by lovely flowers, floral cards and
many ingenious state devices. The "gather the posies while you may"
idea originated in flowery California. Each one of the five thousand
new members from California (North) is still represented in Miss
Gordon's office by a beautiful floral card bearing her name. California
(South) sent gay little "Jubilee ladies" — tiny dolls in gold colored
gowns, one for each local union that had measured up to its allotted
increase in membership. Iowa sent a $2,375.00 corn necklace — each
grain representing a new member who had paid her dollar dues;
Kansas, a huge sunflower with a thousand autographed petals ; Georgia,
an exquisite white rose with local union names on its petals. There
were greetings from Maine with pine tree cone decorations; garden
posies from Wisconsin; rhododendrons from West Washington; sw^eet
peas from Minnesota; laurel from Connecticut; wild roses from Iowa
and North Dakota; golden-rod from Nebraska; violets from Rhode
Island ; columbines from Colorado ; bitter-root from Montana ; blue-
bonnets from Texas, with lilies, marigolds, carnations, gladioli, roses
and every imaginable flower from all along the line, and best of all,
there was a soul in every flower. Evanston's new members were rep-
resented by a large cluster of the L. T. L. children's flower, the field
daisy.
In her official letter of grateful appreciation, the national president
said: "To the law-defying element in our republic, this riot of em-
blematic W. C. T. U. activity in the shape of an imperishable garland
of human flowers and gracious gardeners, represents the challenge of
the Woman's Christian Temperance Union to continued consecration
to its holy task for the new crusade — law observance, law enforcement,
180
Our Golden Jubilee
trained citizenship and devotion to our coming citizens, the youth
of this youthful pilgrim land."
In April, 1921, the National W. C. T. U., through its general
officers, sent a proclamation to the women of America. It was an earnest
plea for co-operation. "We are facing a great crisis," the national
officers said : "Camouflaged as defenders of 'personal liberty' the friends
and adherents of the outlawed liquor traffic are organizing and mass-
ing their forces to secure the annulment of the Eighteenth Amendment
to the Federal Constitution by weakening the enforcement code or
securing such interpretations of the law as shall permit the manu-
facture and sale of intoxicating liquors, contrary to the spirit and
letter of the Amendment. The Woman's Christian Temperance
Union, with its 500,000 members who are engaged in twenty-five
different kinds of social, economic, and moral service — in city and in
town, among women of all creeds, classes, and color — is now engaged
in the Jubilee membership campaign to mobilize a million women.
It invites every woman of our country who believes in the broad-
gauged program of the W. C. T. U. to unite with us, through the
local union nearest her home, and help in the accomplishment of the
great tasks just ahead. We sincerely hope that through our united
efforts — for God, and home, and every land — the womanhood of
America may stand up and be counted — together — as well as one
by one."
The Jubilee membership plans are still systematically marshalling
the forces to unity of action. Year by year, in spite of losses by death,
a fine net gain has been reported and the campaign will be carried
over into the new era. In these manifold far-reaching ways the loyalty
of the white-ribbon women was manifested. The day of preparation
was over!
"The Year of Jubilee has come," triumphantly and hopefully ex-
claimed the National W. C. T. U. president in her message given at
the national convention held in Columbus, Ohio. "Let us make it
a continent-wide celebration — a triumphal march 'from sea to shining
sea,' a March of Allegiance to the Constitution of the United States.
Let us visualize to this nation the moral power of united womanhood,
when for a great cause its patriotism is released." Mrs. Leila A.
Dillard, president of the W. C. T. U. of Georgia, gives this graphic
picture of the convention as it celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of
181
Women Torc h - b barer s
the Crusade. "Oh the opening day — a processional — the Marching
Mothers of the Crusade of 1873, ballotless women kneeling and pray-
ing, despised and rejected by all but the spiritually discerning. Then,
the triumphant March of Allegiance through the crowded streets of
Columbus. The governor of the state and other officials in the pro-
cession, bands playing, magnificent floats, marching of thousands of
enfranchised women conscious that their possession of the ballot meant
that never again would there be a return to the old days when the
home was despoiled, children defrauded, and women's hearts broken."
Through The Union Signal white ribboners have learned of the
gratifying success of the fifty national-state Jubilee meetings aided at
National W. C. T. U. headquarters by the up-to-date, enthusiastrc,
executive secretary of field service, Mrs. Jennie M. Kemp, Miss
Anna A. Gordon, Mrs. Ella A. Boole, Mrs. Margaret C. Munns,
Mrs. Elizabeth P. Anderson, Mrs. Ida B. Wise Smith, Mrs. Mary
Harris Armor, and Mrs. Laura P. Miller, were the National W. C.
T. U. speakers whose routes were planned by Mrs. Kemp.
Almost unanimously the states report the great value of these
meetmgs. Interest and enthusiasm were aroused and notable people
participated. The publicity was unusually good and many new mem-
bers were obtained. State presidents say, "Never in our history have
we ever done anything which has advanced our organization like the
Jubilee meetings." This was especially true in the states where the
celebrations under the National W. C. T. U. auspices were followed
by fifty state meetings. Among the many prominent people partici-
pating and bringing greetings there have been governors, mayors. Su-
preme Court justices, editors, and state and college officials.
In most instances, the "get together" was at luncheons or banquets,
the light of candles typifying the shining of the truths that were
presented in the after-dinner speeches. The national president was
in the southern states; Mrs. Boole in the extreme west; Mrs. Munns
in the middle west; Mrs. Anderson in the northwest; Mrs. Smith
in the southwest. New England, and the middle west; Mrs. Armor
in the south and middle west; Mrs. Miller in the middle west. The
number of miles traveled by this national group was 52,821. The co-
operation of state presidents in arranging these important gatherings
was most praiseworthy.
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Our Golden Jubilee
What was the keynote of the speeches made at these Jubilee gath-
erings? Was it not the achievements of the past, and the present, and
the boundless opportunities of the future? The oratory of the W. C,
T. U. is far-reaching and enduring, for it is based on facts. It makes
vivid the many-sided, progressive co-operating program of the W. C.
T. U. How great have been the results! For the benefit of those who
are "listening in," the National W. C. T. U. radio announcer will
broadcast the illuminating messages of the directors and superintendents
of the following departments:
Americanization ; Anti-Narcotics ; Child Welfare ; Christian Citizen-
ship; Evangelistic; Exhibits and Fairs; Flower Mission and Relief
Work; Health; Institutes; Legislation; Medal Contests; Medical
Temperance; Parliamentary Usage; Peace and Arbitration; Prison
Reform; Publicity; Sabbath Observance; Scientific Temperance Instruc-
tion ; Scientific Temperance Investigation ; Social Morality ; Soldiers and
Sailors; Sunday School; Temperance and Missions; The Bible in the
Public Schools; Women in Industry; Work Among Negroes.
The national Publicity director, Mrs, R. Scott Dunkin, a graduate
of Columbia University, and formerly on the editorial staffs of New
York newspapers, tells first of all, the reasons why the W. C. T. U.
should put good things in cold type — and have them there for keeps.
Kindly "stand by!" Listen to Mrs. Dunkin and many others: "Pub-
licity," says Mrs. Dunkin, ''is the logical, modern method of inter-
preting an organization to the public. No matter what its glories,
past history, notable achievements and progressive contributions to
human development, unless an organization actively tells about its
work, only a very limited public will realize more than its existence.
Today, many talk of 'child welfare' as if it were a comparatively new
study and yet for the past fifty years, the National W. C. T. U. has
been interested in the study of the child as apart from children, m
the mass. It has had a special department devoted to the study of
child welfare and yet few, except those interested, have known of
this splendid progressive, nation-building work. It is because the
W. C. T. U. did not make use of its opportunity to 'shout the glad
tidings.' A great many people speak of 'Americanization' as if it were
something entirely new, yet for fifty years, the W. C. T. U. has been
working among the foreigners in America, helping them to know the
customs of their adopted country and making them feel at home
183
Women Torc h - b barer s
here through acting the part of real neighbors, understanding, sym-
pathetic friends.
"Because the W. C. T. U. has spent its time working, instead
of talking about itself, a comparatively limited number know of this
activity. Instead of having one limited interest, in reality the W. C.
T. U. has twenty-six departments of work embracing every angle of
a wide-visioned, progressive humanitarian program for the betterment
of community life. Through the various avenues of publicity, the
public is now being informed as it should be. The time will come
when, instead of being the most misunderstood organization, the
W. C. T. U. will be recognized by women everywhere, as the repre-
sentative woman's organization."
A strange voice is now heard. Impressed by the speech just made,
someone personifying the printing press is saying: "I am the voice of
today, the herald of tomorrow; I am light, knowledge, power; I
epitomize the conquests of mind over matter; I weave into the warp
of the past the woof of the future; I am the record of all things man-
kind has achieved."
The announcer gives these additional facts: In the early years,
the exchanges received by the editor of the W. C. T. U. national
organ, were innocent of all allusions to temperance work. The per-
sistent publicity work, however, soon began to show results. The
only difficulty experienced by the editor of The Unio?i Signal was to
choose the best out of the multiplicity of published temperance articles.
This widespread change in the secular and religious press was largely
due to the expert work of the national organ and of the 'Tress" de-
partment, as it was then called, which secured weekly and monthly
temperance columns in religious weeklies and in the cosmopolitan and
local newspapers. The Champion, an influential liquor organ of
Chicago, thus bewailed this consummation: "There is not a day when
the American press in almost every state of the Union does not in-
dulge in violent tirades against the saloonkeeper. He is held forth
to the world as a ghoul and a blood-sucking vampire — as a thief,
robber and a murderer — as a most dangerous, abhorrent, God-forsaken
character of our civilization. In the large cities especially, the saloon-
keeper is tossed and kicked about like a football by every religious
mountebank temperance crank and sham reformer, from the pulpit
or the rostrum, or by means of some dishonest, lying newspaper." No
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Our Golden Jubilee
wonder The Champion hated The Union Signal and also every white-
ribboner who had the acumen of a successful pen woman.
The next speaker, Mrs. Frances P. Parks, national superintendent
of the department of Organization, and chairman of the board of or-
ganizers and lecturers, which also includes evangelists, calls attention
to the broadcasting stations all over the land where the experts of
this department are sending out, with scientific and educational facts,
womanly and compelling appeals which annually bring to the organ-
ization hundreds of new members. Mrs. Parks gives the following list
of national organizers and lecturers: Mrs. Mary Harris Armor, Mrs.
Florence E. Atkins, Mrs. Ellen A. Dayton Blair, Miss Rose A. Davi-
son, Mrs. Lyversa M. De Silva, Mrs. Fannie A. Drummond, Mrs.
Lulu Thomas Gleason, Rev. Lida M. Herrick, Miss Louise E. Hol-
lister, Mrs. Emma H. Howland, Mrs. Azuba Jones, Mrs. Lora S.
La Mance, Mrs. Jeannette H. Mann, Mrs. Matilda E. Patterson,
Mrs. Viola D. Romans, Miss Roena E. Shaner, Rev. Mary Sibbitt,
Mrs. Jackson Silbaugh, Miss Christine 1. Tinling, Mrs. Ida D. Van
Valkenburgh. National evangelists: Mme. Layyah Barakat, Mrs.
Lem Gilreath, Mrs. Ella Kroft, Rev. Etta S. Shaw.
"The purpose of the Young People's Branch," says the national
general secretary, Mrs. Maude B. Perkins, "is to unite the young
people of the community, county, and state in a campaign for the en-
forcement of the prohibitory law; to keep alive the civic consciousness
concerning the value of total abstinence; to educate the young men
and women as to the effect of narcotics upon the human system; to
study the meaning of a single standard of purity and live it — that
we may emphasize the essentials of Christian citizenship and thus per-
petuate the heritage that has come to us from the mother organization.
"Many of our early boy members are now prominent teachers,
preachers, university professors, and leaders of life in various com-
munities. Many have said that their college training aided them to
make a living; but the principles and training of the young
people's organization had helped them to make their lives. A state sen-
ator of New Jersey says that it was through identification with our
young people's organization that he had an arrest of thought along
temperance lines and so is now able to work forcefully in that direc-
tion. A prohibition enforcement agent in another state had his train-
185
Women To rc h - b barer s
ing in a young people's society. Scores of young men state that our
work has had a vital influence in shaping their lives.
"Our girls also pay tribute to our organization. In early life,
one of our young M^omen w^anted to go as a missionary, but her health
would not permit. When she came into our society, she confided to
me her ambition, and I told her that all international work was not
necessarily done in the countries across the sea. Since that time, she
has worked officially and effectively here for our young people whom
we have sent to other nations. A young woman of New York state
trained in our principles, gave fine service in South America. Students
from other lands have felt the impress of our work and are now push-
ing these principles in the Orient and elsewhere.
"The young people have done valuable research work, making sur-
veys as to the beneficial effects of prohibition in their respective com-
munities; they have carried on correspondence with the young people
of other non-prohibition countries, imparting information regarding the
value of the dry law in this country; they have conducted in their
own Branches citizenship study classes to which members of other
young people's societies have been invited ; and in their own circles
have been influential in building up sentiment for total abstinence
and prohibition."
The announcer makes this historic statement: "In the beginnmg,
the Woman's Christian Temperance Union met the challenge of the
American liquor trafific, with the challenge of America's youth. Frances
J. Barnes of New York, cultured and devoted, the first national 'Y'
secretary, gave herself freely to the task of winning young women md
young men for an unpopular reform. Later, she gave her organizing
and social program to the youth of the world."
The voice of the national secretary of the Loyal Temperance Legion
Branch, Miss Mary B. Ervin, is now heard : "Inspire America's ycutn
with civic ideals," she says.
"In Athens, long ago, boys were taught this pledge: 'We will
never bring disgrace to this our city, by any act of dishonesty or cowar-
dice, nor ever desert our comrades; we will fight for the ideals and
sacred things of the city, both alone and with many; we will revere
and obey the city laws and do our best to incite a like respect and
reverence in others; we will strive unceasingly to quicken the public's
186
Our Golden Jubilee
sense of civic duty — that thus, in all these ways, we may transmit ihis
city greater, better and more beautiful than it was transmitted to us.'
"Such a pledge taught to the American youth today and passed
on to future generations would make our own loved land truly 'America
the Beautiful'
"That we may celebrate our Jubilee Year in a manner worthy
of this great event, worthy of the years of service and sacrifice of our
blessed foremothers, worthy of that splendid army of Loyal Tem-
perance Legioners that helped make 'King Alcohol tremble' and totter
from his throne when they 'grew up,' in honor of these worthy heroes
of the past and in appreciation of the bigness of our task yet ahead,
we need a MILLION boys and girls enlisted in the ranks of the Loyal
Temperance Legion. These million members will want their fathers
and their mothers to vote against beer and wine, and to talk against
it, and to obey the laws of the land, and above all they will have had
instilled into their plastic minds the principles of clean living and right
thinking."
May the white ribbon forces of America realize anew that the
"law-makers of twenty years hence are forming their habits and
opinions now" and may we catch a vision of the far-reaching in-
fluence of our labor of love in capturing this generation for law ob-
servance and for Christian citizenship. Enlist the children today and
help make America "greater, better and more beautiful than it was
transmitted to us." The imperative need is a larger number of con-
secrated leaders to keep the watchwords, "Love, Loyalty, Light" and
to inspire in them the Christian patriotism embodied in our Loyal
Temperance Legion movement.
"Hats off to the past, coats oH to the future," said Mrs. CuUa
J. Vayhinger, the late national director of Americanization. "What
is our past? A half century of toil and sacrifice to educate public sen-
timent in the United States to the belief in total abstinence for the
individual, and prohibition for the state; to place the ballot in the
hands of women; to establish a single standard of purity for men and
women ; to better working conditions for wage earners, especially
women and children. What is our future?"
"Victory always brings new obligations. Enforcement officers tell
us that from sixty-five to ninety per cent of the violations of the pro-
hibition law must be laid at the door of the foreigner of our country;
187
Women Torc h - b barer s
but again, a noted judge of Chicago says that ninety per cent of the
foreigners coming before him for violations are ignorant of the taw
and its penalty, to say nothing of being ignorant of the reason which
led to its enactment. Surely, our organization which had so large
a part in writing the law has the responsibility of teaching these
foreigners. The foreign-born women in this country are potential
voters largely through our efforts. It is our task to help them to
become safe and intelligent voters. We must not fail.
"The foreign centers in our large cities are the greatest liability
of our government. These foreigners are not anarchists and traitors
to the flag under which they have come to live but they do not know
'Old Glory' and that for which it stands. One generation of foreign-
born, or children of foreign-born parents, taught conscientiously by
Christian Americans would make of this liability an asset. When
foreigners first leave the ship at Ellis Island, let us extend to them
a friendly hand. Let us enlist in this line of work women who will
be Christian American neighbors to the neglected foreign women,
especially mothers."
"Stand by," says the announcer while you have Mrs. Vayhinger's
picture of a day in a W. C. T. U. Americanization Center: "The
clock in front of the jewelry store, owned by Mr. Cerevegna, marked
eight oclock as a young woman, probably thirty j'ears old, stepped
lightly down Paulina Street, stopped in front of a store building
facing on two streets, unlocked the door and went in. The windov/s
were clean and in them was a fine exhibit of picture posters on health,
prohibition, total abstinence, law enforcement, peace, good citizenship
and child welfare, with the American flag much in evidence. Pictures
of Washington, Lincoln, Lafayette, Kosciusko, Frances Willard, and
in the center of the group a copy of Hoffmann's head of Christ, oc-
cupied a conspicuous position. On a window facing each street, In
gold and black letters were the words, 'W. C. T. U. Neighbors,' and
on the door in the same colors, the words, 'Welcome, Walk In.'
"As the young woman entered the bright, cheery room the tele-
phone rang and a voice at the other end of the line asked if a group
of young Italian men and women from homes where the families w^ere
crowded into two rooms, might come to the Center the next evening
with their own 'eats' and have a party. As she turned from the phone,
the door opened and a dirty, unkempt woman entered. In broken
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Our Golden Jubilee
English, she told a sorry tale of sickness in the city hospital, dismissal,
inability to work, and no place to stay. The teacher heard her story
and then called up the Salvation Army to see if they could take care
of the case in their woman's quarters. Receiving a favorable reply,
she wrote a note to the person in charge, asking her to let her know
when the bearer arrived, placed it in the hands of her visitor, took
her to the street-car, paid her fare, and asked the conductor to put
her ofiE at the right place. Later, she was told over the phone that
the woman had put in an appearance, all safe and sound.
"It was nine o'clock when three women, wearing the marks of
Russia as their native land, called at the Center. For one hour the
teacher with infinite patience and care used her brain and all the
ingenuity she could muster to instruct them regarding the various parts
of the body. Then she took into her own hand the horny hand of
each M^oman, and carefully guided the stubby fingers in the attempt
to make letters that would spell her name. When the lessons were
finished and the stories of sick babies, husbands out of jobs, and the
troubles of the children in school had been listened to with sympathetic
attention, the teacher gave her promise to see what could be done, and
the three foreign sisters, filled with more courage and interest because
one American woman cared, went out to take up the trials and strug-
gles incident to life in a strange land.
"Each hour brought new visitors and fresh duties. At two oclock,
three white-ribboners came and for an hour they studied with the
teacher the correspondence course in Americanization, and then went
out with her to call at some of the homes of the neighborhood, in
preparation for volunteer work among the mothers. At three-thirty
a crowd of boys and girls came scuffling into the Center, and after
discouraged looking stockings had been pulled up off of shoe-tops, but-
tons put into their proper holes, and noses wiped, at the suggestion
of the young women from the Young People's Branch who had charge
of the Loyal Temperance Legion, an interesting group of children
representing Roumania, Greece, Italy, Czecho-Slovakia, Poland, Croa-
tia and Russia were taught the reason why they should love America
and the principles of the W. C. T. U. This was a busy day, indeed,
though it did not happen to be the date when the Mothers' Club or
the Girls' Club met, or when the teacher was to visit the court, or
the school, or when there was an evening class or a mothers' party.
189
Women Torch-bearers
Our successful Americanization field worker, Miss Charlotte Fraser,
visits the Centers."
Miss Helen G. H, Estelle, the national superintendent of Anti-
Narcotics, i« now heard: "Our department has these objectives:
Knowledge of present laws regulating traffic in narcotics; observance
and enforcement of existing laws; an anti-narcotic program betore
every mothers' club, parent-teachers association and other groups in-
terested in humanitarian work; greater attention paid to the nar-
cotic work in the public schools through the hygiene and biology
classes ; viewing of the film, 'Human Wreckage' ; a copy of the anti-
tobacco law of the state in every place where tobacco products are
sold. Opium, morphine, codeine, heroin, and cocaine are classed as
habit-forming drugs. The W. C. T. U. seeks to protect all from the
bane of these narcotics, and especially through education to prevent
young people from forming drug-using habits. When children of all
nations are educated as to the evil effects of opium and cocaine upon
the human system, the drug problem will have been solved."
The next speaker to be introduced over the radio is Mrs. Elizabeth
A. Perkins, the national director of Child Welfare. "The Child Wel-
fare department program of the National Woman's Christian Tem-
perance Union," Mrs. Perkins explains, "is a five pointed one: To
every child belongs the right, to be well born; (this also includes
future health); to an education; to protection from child labor; to
be morally safeguarded ; to spiritual training. The work is carried
on under four divisions. Division one — research work and a campaign
of information and education. Division two — selection by local unions
of specific work for immediate assistance. Division three — emphasis
on the Eighteenth Amendment and the Volstead Code in their benefi-
cent relation to child life. Division four — to give to mothers our
friendship, our literature, our special helps and to urge all mothers
to stand with organized mother-love in all that helps child life and
to say, The legalized liquor traffic in any form, under any guise shall
never return.'
"Through the national official organ, The Union Signal, through
the state papers of the organization, through special literature, and
through two special papers sent out each month from the office of
the national director, the organization is a vital factor in stimulating
community interest in child welfare, and gives direct help to mothers
190
Our Golden Jubilee
on the care of children. Pamphlets and mimeographed sheets are
available as loan material from the office of the national director.
Extensive collections of posters and charts are loaned to W. C. T. U.
organizations and for educational meetings, chautauquas, health weeks,
baby weeks, and fairs."
The white ribbon electorate are alert listeners as they learn thai
Mrs. Ida B. Wise Smith, national director of the department of Chris-
tian Citizenship will broadcast: "To be a good citizen," Mrs. Smith
declares, "and to render the best possible service to one's country, is
the responsibility of everyone who receives the benefits and protection
of government. All good citizens should themselves implicitly obey
the law; discourage violation by personal indulgence in liquor among
friends; courteously protest against jests at prohibition in movies,
periodicals, or in social converse; and carry plans for co-operation in
law enforcement into every organization to which they belong. A par-
ticular activity — one that is colorful and spectacular — is the 'March
of Allegiance' that in many of the larger towns features election
campaigns.
"Rally the greater army for the greater task. Co-operate with
public school teachers to secure emphasis on scientific temperance teach-
ing and citizenship study, with law observance specially stressed ; secure
the same co-operation in colleges; give great attention to the Christian
Endeavor, Epworth League, Baptist Young People's Union, Loyal
Temperance Legion, and all other young people's societies; assist their
Good Citizenship committees to properly plan and function ; study all
public questions — the policy of every political party toward them, and
the attitude of every aspirant for office; pay poll tax, if required in
the state; register if necessary, and induce others to do so; attend
all caucuses — vote at primaries and final elections ; uphold the officers
now in charge of law enforcement, offer assistance if needed, commend
any good work they do, protest when it is proper to do so, secure
removal from office when unfit; as part of this program be sure that
at every election officials are secured who will live up to their oath
of office."
"The aim of the department of Exhibits and Fairs," says Mrs.
Carolyn P. Lindsay, the national superintendent, "is to emphasize by
picture play, pageant, float, pantomime, parade, tableau, charade, music,
poster, exhibit, contest, or drill, the beautiful and the constructive, the
191
Women Torc h- b e arer s
benefits of prohibition, the blessings of total abstinence and law en-
forcement; to study the exhibit problem intensively and by so doing
evolve a thing of beauty both educative and convincing.
"To embrace every occasion w^here law enforcement may be presen-
ted in some form either by co-operation or by initiative, indoors or
outdoors. To plan well for a place at all fairs and to put on a cred-
itable all-day program.
"Valuable W. C. T. U. exhibits have been attractive features of
fairs, expositions and all large W. C. T. U. conventions. The Na-
tional W. C. T. U. received a bronze medal at the Louisiana Purchase
Exposition; a gold medal was given the organization at the Lewis
and Clark Centennial Exposition held in Portland, Oregon, in 1905,
a similar medal was awarded at the Panama-Pacific Exposition held
in San Francisco in 1915. For war relief work, a Belgium Orphan
Fund medal of bronze was given in 1914, and as noted elsewhere, a
medal was given Miss Leila M. Sewall, the national superintendent
of Flower Mission and Relief Work, for the adoption during the war,
of fatherless children in France."
The announcer gives this notice : "At National W. C. T. U. Head-
quarters, Evanston, Illinois, can be obtained a five reel film, 'Safe-
guarding the Nation.' It is a scientific, educational exposition of the
effects of small quantities of alcohol upon the individual, physically and
mentally. The slowing down of the physical powers is shown by
illustrations of endurance tests in walking, in feats of strength and
in ability to accomplish set tasks. It is clearly visualized through the
eye-gate that the nerves do not respond as quickly when alcoholized,
even to the extent of wine and beer quantities. An engineer makes
more mistakes in distinguishing colors, hence may run past his signal
with consequent loss of life; the man who gives the signal for the
hoisting or lowering of great beams responds a second too late and a
life may pay the forfeit; the man at the great steel plant is pouring
the red, molten iron into the forms — instantaneous response to the
signal is the price of safety. These interesting illustrations hold the
attention while they point the lesson.
"The effect of alcohol on posterity is set forth in the guinea-pig
experiments which are interesting and convincing. The physiological
aspect of the question is emphasized and the phenomena of the beating
heart, the expanding lungs, the circulation of the blood, etc., are so
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Our Golden Jubilee
well done as to cause favorable comment from scientists. As a climax
to the result of the study of the effect of alcohol, the whitening United
States map is shown as prohibition progress was made and at last the
beautiful Capitol of the saloonless nation is exhibited."
Miss Leila M. Sewall, the national superintendent, and her asso-
ciate, Miss Eva Kilbreth Foster, tell how the beautiful Flower Mission
and Relief Work has blessed many countries. The department seeks
"to alleviate the sufferings of a chastened humanity; to afford relief
increasing and comprehensive in its scope; to meet acute situations with
emergency relief, international as well as national, if necessary. Co-
operating with other departments, this one not infrequently opens the
door to pronounced prohibition sentiment." The remarkable war re-
lief work of the department is told in a previous chapter. The historic
setting of the Flower Mission department is well-known to all who
continue to celebrate Jennie Casseday's birthday. Miss Casseday, it
will be recalled, a suffering invalid, became at Frances Willard's re-
quest, the first superintendent of this gracious ministering department.
Miss Ethel Austin Shrigley, who preceded Miss Sewall as superin-
tendent, initiated many of the plans so successfully used today.
A woman physician now speaks — Dr. P. S. Bourdeau-Sisco, the
national superintendent of the department of Health. ''This depart-
ment," Dr. Sisco says, "was established in the year 1881, at the eighth
annual convention. Thus early in the history of the movement was
the relation of health to temperance recognized. The department has
had thirteen superintendents, three of them having been physicians.
During the past forty-three years it has been known at various times
as the department of Hj'giene, the department of Heredity, and the
department of Health, which indicates something of the scope of the
work that has been done. Today it is organized in forty-six states
and divisions of territory.
" 'To glorify God in our bodies, to keep his word and teach men
so, is the tap-root of the temperance reform' — said Frances E. Wil-
lard. 'The Health department is the great foundation department,' is
the statement of Anna A. Gordon. These sentiments have ever been
the department ideals. It teaches that the craving for alcohol is due
in part to a condition of fowered physical vitality and an indefinable
feeling of inadequacy. It is known that the general movement for
better health, the increased interest in all matters of public hygiene
193
Women Torc h - b barer s
during the past years has been one of the factors in the banishment
of the saloon.
"And, now, it is just here that at the present time the work of the
Health department also vitally touches the question of law enforce-
ment. It seeks to aid in the enforcement of the law by removing one
of the causes of infringement of the law, namely, disease and ill health.
"Moreover, the study of physiology clearly indicates that the human
body is governed by law, and that for every broken law there is a
corresponding penalty. We know also that the body politic is ruled
by law, and that for every broken law there ensues greater or less
civic disaster. And so when the department of Health teaches respect
for the laws of the body, therein does it also teach respect for law
wherever found, not only in the realm of nature, but also in the domam
of the state. Thus does the department correlate its efforts with the
great objectives of the national organization.
"Its methods include the extensive use of well chosen literature,
health lectures, health demonstrations, the use of the public press for
the dissemination of the truths of health, and health meetings held in
all the local unions of the organization throughout the land. It stresses
the various features of public hygiene, personal hygiene, and mental
hygiene, as general and local conditions demand. Its principles are
indicated in the following physical decalog: —
"I. Thou shalt eat for health. Thou shalt not stufif nor starve.
"II. Thou shalt drink plenty of pure water. Most men eat too
much but drink too little.
"III. Thou shalt work, but thou shalt not over work.
"IV. Thou shalt obtain sufficient sleep, but thou shalt not be found
a sluggard.
*'V. Thou shalt recreate, but thou shalt not dissipate.
"VI. Thou shalt dress healthfully; thy body shall be well protected
but no part constricted.
"VII. Thou shalt practice deep breathing, for thy lungs are thy
body's ventilators.
"VIII. Thou shalt bathe frequently, for thus thou keepest active the
million pores of thy skin.
"IX. Thou shalt covet the sunshine. It is God's great life-giving
force.
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"X. Thou shalt not worry, for the paths of worry lead but to
the grave."
"The price of progress is education," says Mrs. Anna Marden
De Yo, national superintendent of the department of Institutes. "The
Institute offers a constructive program which will aid in the education
and development of W. C. T. U. women while at the same time at-
tracting others. The Institute gives needed emphasis to the benefits
of prohibition, thereby creating sentiment to help in holding and en-
dorsing the Eighteenth Amendment. The Institute diffuses a wider
knowledge of the far-reaching plans of our great organization !"
"Listeners in" hope to hear the latest plans from Washington, D. C,
when the next speaker, Mrs. Lenna Lowe Yost, national superinten-
dent of Legislation, is announced. They are not disappointed. Mrs.
Yost says:
"This department aims to present the voice of organized woman-
hood, the church, and the home, to legislative bodies, local, state and
national, to perfect and unify prohibition laws and to aid in securing
other legislation that relates to human welfare. The Legislative repre-
sentative keeps watch for the constituency of the Woman's Christian
Temperance Union. When an attack is made by the enemy to modify
or repeal our prohibition law through legislation, an agency is needed
to speak for the organized womanhood of the nation. Many times
since the Constitutional Prohibition Amendment was ratified, the need
for new legislation has developed, and additional legislation from time
to time will be found necessary to meet the devices of the violator and
to meet constructions placed upon the law by courts or executive depart-
ments. Prohibition legislation will always have our first and active
support. The prohibition law was secured after fifty years of organ-
ized and sacrificial effort on the part of the Woman's Christian Tem-
perance Union. To establish the principle of prohibition in the funda-
mental laws of the land has been the goal all through the years. It
has always been the major issue and it will continue to be until the
principle is established into the customs of society.
"The Legislative representative promotes other Federal legislation
especially that which has to do with the efficiency of the home, edu-
cation for citizenship, the health of our people and the highest moral
development of the individual. The endorsement of the following
measures is recommended: Adequate appropriations for the enforcement
195
Women Torc h - b e arer s
of prohibition; the Children's Bureau, to include appropriations for the
study of conditions relating to procedures affecting children ; venereal
disease division of the United States Public Health Service.
Women's Bureau. For the protection of the Indian from the drug,
peyote. For a Department of Education which shall adequately pro-
vide for physical education. The principle for this is found in the
Sterling-Reed Bill now pending before Congress. For an increase in
the number of army and navy chaplains. The Capper-Hull Bill
(S. 2532; H, R. 7036.) For an improved industrial program for Fed-
eral prisoners, particularly for the new home for Federal women pris-
oners. For a Federal Industrial Reformatory for boys. (Pending Bill,
Foster H. R.) Entry into Permanent Court of International Justice
according to the Harding-Hughes proposals.
"To perfect state prohibition laws. For ratification of Child Labor
amendment. For acceptance and enforcement of the Maternity and
Infancy Act, For welfare of women engaged in gainful occupations.
For better child labor laws where they are below the standard. For
uniform laws, especially relating to marriage and divorce.
''The National W. C. T. U. declares its interest in human welfare
legislation for the District of Columbia — the nation's capital city, such
as a Department of Public Welfare, and will, through the national
superintendent of Legislation, direct such activities in the interest of
this measure as the organization may find it possible to give. From
the Legislative Headquarters, Bliss Building, Washington, D. C, in-
formation in regard to Federal and state welfare and prohibition laws,
also information on pending bills in the U. S. Congress, is furnished."
Mrs. Lettie Hill May, the national superintendent of The Bible
in the Public Schools, gives this information: "The object of the de-
partment is to create sentiment for a more active and definite study
of the Bible in all schools where it is now used, and to introduce it
into others. In order to do this we must arouse public sentiment along
this line by using some of the following plans: Secure the co-operation
of state, county and local superintendents of public instruction, as well
as members of local school boards; hold public meetings in the interest
of the department, and get newspaper publicity. Secure the appoint-
ment of a superintendent in each state and local union who will cir-
culate diligently the literature for the department. Enroll members
of school boards and school teachers as members of the Woman's
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Christian Temperance Union. Co-operate with other organizations
who are doing the same line of work.
"There is a growing enthusiasm in the United States and other
nations for bringing the Bible into the public schools; and in this
movement a great many organizations are co-operating. In many
cities where the school board has appointed a committee to prepare
suggestive readings for daily use through the school term, a Catholic,
a Jew and a Protestant have been appointed on said committee. It is
interesting to note that not only in our nation, but in others, the
'Back to the Bible' slogan is demanding the attention of all thinking
people. Theodore Roosevelt said: 'In this country we rightly pride
ourselves upon our wide-spread popular education. It is a great thing
to be clever, to be able, to be smart, but it is better to have the qual-
ities that find their expression in the Decalogue and the Golden Rule.
Honesty first ; then courage ; then brains.' "
The voices of young people are now heard as Mrs. Maude Carman
Cathcart, the national superintendent of Medal Contests, gives a dem-
onstration of its educational work.
"Our object," she saj^s, "is to enlist the children and young people
in a series of declamatory contests, the selections being on subjects
relative to our work published in the recitation books. To use these
young people wherever possible at law-enforcement-citizenship rallies
and for ready-made meetings in the churches and other societies. To
utilize this opportunity to keep ever before the public the principles
of our organization, and also to enroll new members for the W. C. T.
U. To keep a correct address of each medal winner, as each one is
entitled to membership in the contest alumni. The department has
enlisted thousands of young people and children, promoting the prin-
ciples of total abstinence and obedience to law, and has greatly helped
to build up a clean, honorable, and loyal American citizenship." Mrs.
Cathcart then pays tribute to her late mother, Mrs. Adelia Carman,
the first national superintendent, who nationally and internationally,
for many years, made the department a success.
Mrs. Martha M. Allen, the national superintendent of the de-
partment of Medical Temperance, has the special attention of many
white ribbon physicians and nurses as she says: "This department be-
gan, in 1897, the public campaign against fraudulent patent medicines,
especially those containing large quantities of alcohol, and was instru-
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Women Torc h - b barer s
mental in interesting Collier s Weekly and The Ladies Home Journal
in the fight. The department put copies of the 'Great American
Fraud' pamphlet into thousands of public libraries, and sent out thou-
sands of copies to persons of influence. The agitation begotten was
a great aid in securing the passage of the National Pure Food Law
which requires the statement, on the label, of the presence of opiates
and the percentage of alcohol.
"The department began a crusade against the use of whisky in
the treatment of tuberculosis of the lungs aided by a few experts in
that disease who did not believe in whisky treatment. The poster
prepared by Mrs. Allen was used by different boards of health in cam-
paigns against tuberculosis and was enlarged and used in the great
International Tuberculosis Congress held in Washington. The out-
come was that soon all literature on consumption warned against;
alcohol. We have done much to win better-class physicians to abandon
the use of alcoholic liquors as medicine by the distribution of leaflets
at medical meetings. Appeals to physicians, largely circulated, were
the means of obtaining strong resolutions from the American Medi-
cal Association in 1917, resolutions which had large influence in the
securing of national prohibition. The book, 'Alcohol a Dangerous and
Unnecessary Medicine,' written by Mrs. Allen, was placed in all the
medical libraries of the United States and Canada by a philanthropic
friend. This book and the leaflets of the department were highly com-
mended by the Journal of the American Medical Association, and some
other influential journals.
"The agitation kept up by this department with its appeals to
physicians and its circulation among them of the best and latest findings
against alcohol by practitipners and research workers has resulted in
a great change in hospital practice and in the teaching in medical
colleges. Very little alcoholic liquor is now used in most of the hos-
pitals of this country, and in some of the largest, no alcoholic liquor
has been used since the advent of national prohibition. The best med-
ical schools no longer teach that alcohol is a useful or indispensable
medicine; many warn against its use.
"When this department began its work, whisky was looked upon
as the sheet anchor of the profession in the treatment of pneumonia
and typhoid fever. Now it is a completely discredited drug in all
infectious diseases. Whisky and brandy were omitted from the U. S.
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Our Golden Jubilee
Pharmacopoeia after this department had sent a memorial to all the
members of the pharmacopoeial convention of 1910 asking for this
action and assigning as reasons why such action should be taken that
best physicians were not using this agent any longer."
The announcer makes this statement: "Though at present there is
no national department of Parlor Meetings and Red Letter Days of
which for so many years A-Irs. Mary Davis Tomlinson was the na-
tional superintendent (now World's W. C. T. U. superintendent),
in many states it still strengthens the local unions by adding many
active and honorary members to the ranks. These meetings bring
together socially not only white ribboners, but also those who would
not attend gatherings in churches and halls. The observance of the
national red letter days familiarizes many people with the leaders of
the past, who have aided in bringing the victories, and many of
the present who are helping formulate progressive plans for the future.
These red letter days are: January 16 — birthday of National Con-
stitutional Prohibition — Lillian Stevens Legislative Fund Day; Feb-
ruary 17 — Frances E. Willard Memorial Fund Day; March 20 —
Union Signal Subscription Day; April 14 — ^Young People's Branch
Day (birthday of Frances J. Barnes) ; May 11 — Mother's Day; June
9 — Flower Mission Day (birthday of Jennie Casseday) ; July 4 —
National Independence Day (birthday of Mary H. Hunt) ; July 21 —
Loyal Temperance Legion Day (birthday of Anna A. Gordon) ; July 31
— White Ribbon Missionary Day (birthday of Mary Allen West) ;
August 3 — Fresh Air Mission Day (birthday of Lady Henry Somer-
set) ; August 28 — (birthday of Lucy Webb Hayes) ; September 28 —
Children's Harvest Home and Young Crusader Day (birthday of
Frances E. Willard); World's Temperance Sunday — {The Union
Signal will announce date) ; December 23 — Crusade and Pioneers' Day."
The announcer says: "The department of Parliamentary Usage
owes much to its first superintendent, Mrs. A. S. Benjamin of Mich-
igan, who was elected in 1887 and served with distinction until 1917.
Mrs. Benjamin was the acknowledged authority upon all points of par-
liamentary law and usage and her published 'studies' were widely used.
The present national superintendent of Parliamentary Usage, Mrs. L
W. Gleason, elected in 1917, gives these as the high points of her pro-
gram: 'The aim of this department is to assist an assembly to ac-
complish the work for which it was organized — in the best possible
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Women To rc h - b barer s
manner. We are trained in our unions, through parliamentary law,
to conform to law and order because parliamentary law teaches disci-
pline, obedience, and respect for law and order; and as our lives reflect
action, we impress and are impressed by proceeding always in order.
This makes it easier to obey laws that are made for the benefit of city,
state, and nation.' "
The national superintendent of the department of Peace and Arbi-
tration, Mrs. Effie Danforth McAfee, says: "This department seeks
to do away with the causes which underlie war; with prejudice, race
hatred, religious animosity, cut-throat rivalry in commerce and with
exploitation. The department seeks to bring about the spirit of co-
operation, of fellowship and unity of all in spiritual brotherhood.
Drastic laws imposed from without are not so potent as the guidance
of the indwelling spirit and for each individual to manifest the Golden
Rule."
Mrs. Minnie Barker Horning, national superintendent of Prison
Reform, seeks "to educate for the building of Christian character and
for the reformation of life prisoners in the jails and penitentiaries.
Efforts are made for proper housing, cleanliness and health safeguards;
for the indeterminate sentence and parole ; for the appointment of women
on the prison boards of every state; for women physicians, guards, and
attendants for women prisoners.
"The department assists the families of prisoners by teaching Eng-
lish and American ways when necessary. Foreign prisoners are taught
English; employment and aid are given to discharged prisoners. The
department helped make favorable public sentiment for the In-
dustrial Home for Federal women prisoners; and for the segregation
of the juvenile delinquent."
Mrs. Emma L. Starrett, national superintendent of Sabbath Ob-
servance, says: "The department is waging a constructive nation-wide
campaign of education to preserve the sanctity of the Sabbath; and to
resist legislative enactment for a commercialized Sabbath. As all law
is based upon the Ten Commandments and as 'Remember the Sabbath
Day to keep it holy,' is a direct command of God, we believe that the
enforcement of His law involves the enforcement of all law. The
question should be studied from the viewpoint of safeguarding home
interests and protection of all in their right for one day of rest and
worship as has been ruled by the Supreme Court."
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Our Golden Jubilee
Miss Cora Frances Stoddard, national director of Scientific Tem-
perance Instruction in the Public Schools and Scientific Temperance In-
vestigation, gives by special request extracts from the address she pre-
sented at the fifteenth International Congress Against Alcoholism held in
Washington, D. C, September 24, 1920. Not only is it of historical
value but it points the v^^ay for future work. Miss Stoddard says:
"The Woman's Christian Temperance Union early turned to the slow
and arduous but constructive task of rearing a whole new generation
— several generations if need be — in the principles of total abstinence.
For several years after this society was organizing its forces it suc-
ceeded in securing the adoption of the Sir Benjamin Ward Richardson
'Temperance Lesson Book' in public schools. Yet public school tem-
perance instruction in its fullness awaited its leader. It was this
leader, Mrs. Mary H. Hunt, who twice stood before this Congress,
in Brussels, in 1897 and Bremen in 1903, whose vision and capacity for
organization finally made temperance instruction of the children of the
United States a part of the regular school instruction.
"What were its scope and principles? It was plannned to reach
all the children. To do this it was made compulsory ; hence the twenty
years of legislative work that put a law requiring temperance education
on the statute books of every state and of Congress for schools under
Federal control. It was made a part of instruction in hygiene. The
temperance education movement in the United States, beginning forty
years ago, not only brought temperance instruction into the schools,
but it is also to be credited with introducing instruction in general hy-
giene. Knowledge of hygiene was good in itself for the rising gene-
ration, but by including in it the scientific temperance instruction, the
temperance teaching was given a logical, reasonable place in the child's
thoughts. Thus the ideal future instruction was the teaching of scien-
tific facts in a form that the child could understand.
"Suitable textbooks were secured and required. These were pub-
lished by the regular school text-book publishing houses. By the first
years of the twentieth century the temperance forces had so far won
that scientific temperance instruction was not only a recognized and
legal part of the educational system of the entire country, but it had
for its assistance a variety of textbooks adapted to all ages of pupils
— books whose teaching had kept pace with the scientific progress of
the years.
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Women Torc h - b e arer s
"Another principle of the Scientific Temperance Instruction depart-
ment has been that thorough teaching should be given in the early years
of the child's school course. While provision w^as made for continuing
it into the later years, there has been general agreement as to the neces-
sity of this thorough teaching before the end of the child's sixth school
year — that is, before he is eleven or twelve years old. In the case of
thousands of foreign-born children later to become citizens, the lower
grades are their only chance of being taught total abstinence facts.
Handicapped by the necessity of learning a new language, they otten
leave school to go to work before they reach the upper elementary
grades. The fundamental reason for early instruction is always the
importance of training to sobriety in the habit-forming period. The
Woman's Christian Temperance Union not only had the vision of what
was to be achieved, but by the ramifications of its organization it was
able to bring public sentiment to bear when and where needed. Fathers
and mothers saw in this scientific temperance instruction a chance to
save their children from the danger of alcoholism.
"Many factors have entered into the progress of the American tem-
perance movement, but it is generally conceded that the temperance
education of the children for more than a generation has been a power-
ful force in abolishing the legalized liquor traffic. Not until about
1890 had sufficient temperance educational legislation been enacted to
make the instruction fairly general, though all through the preceding
decade it was being extended. For still another decade, up to 1901,
legislative work continued and the struggle was going on to get sound
total abstinence teaching introduced into the schools. The children
who began school in 1885 were voters about 1900. The children who
began in 1890 were coming to their majority about 1905. It is
necessary to recall that practically half a lifetime is required before a
child taught the truth begins to exert any public influence with it. But
all through these years there were coming to maturity ever-increasing
tens of thousands of school children who had been taught why alcohol
is an enemy to human welfare.
"The enactment of state prohibition laws which culminated in na-
tional prohibition began to gain momentum in 1907. Of its sources the
Hon. Samuel J. Barrows of the International Prison Commission
(1896) said, in 1898, that one reason for the growth of temperance
sentiment was the fact that systematic temperance teaching of youth
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had been going on for years and the result of this education has been
telling in the boj's and girls who have grown to manhood and woman-
hood. A new generation has grown up and has found that alcoholic
drinks are not necessary for health or happiness.
"The United States Commissioner of Education, Hon. W. T.
Harris, had said, in his report for 1900-1901, concerning temperance
instruction in the public schools in the United States: 'It may be said
that this movement is the most effective one ever devised by the friends
of temperance to abate a great evil — one of the greatest evils abroad
in the land.' Twenty years later, on the eve of constitutional prohi-
bition becoming effective, the United States Commissioner of Educa-
tion, Hon. P. P. Claxton, wrote: 'With all persons who are interested
in the education of children, in the upbuilding of humanity and the
attainment of the highest ideals of democracy, I rejoice at the coming
of prohibition for the United States. In the creation of a sentiment
which has resulted first in local option, then in state prohibition and
now in national prohibition, the schools of the country have played a
very important part, in fact, probably a major part. It is a good illus-
tration of the truth of the saying that "Whatsoever we want in the
nation in the next generation we should put into the schools of this gene-
ration.
"So much for the past. What of the future? Is the scientific tem-
perance instruction to be continued? The general opinion of the state
educational officials is that it should be continued. The reasons given
are that it is necessary to acquaint all children now in the schools and
especially newcomers of foreign parentage with the reasons for the
position the United States has taken against alcoholic drinks. That is
important to insure an intelligent public sentiment to prevent or over-
come illicit manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages; that there
should be continued warning as to the alcoholic dangers in wine and
beer and in home-made fermented beverages.
"Present-day discussions of the alcohol question indicate certain
lines of instruction that are still necessary if we are to knit up the loose
ends of public knowledge about alcohol. Instruction is still needed
along four points: first, that alcohol with its habit-forming power is in
even the lighter forms of alcoholic beverages; second, the depressing
effects of even small quantities of alcohol upon physical and mental
activities and upon self-control; third, the lower resistence to disease
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Women Torch-bearers
which may be due to continued drinking of quantities of alcohol insuf-
ficient to cause drunkenness; the fact that alcoholic intoxication is not
measured by drunkenness alone but by every characteristic effect of
alcohol showing proven inefficiency or depression at any stage in the
drinker's condition below that of visible drunkenness.
"The real 'kings' and 'princes' of the future will be the men and
women who rise to their full capacity of powers and exercise them for
the common good. Alcohol defeats both these ends. Hence, as one
means of insuring that our kings and princes may not 'forget the law
and pervert justice' we are putting away alcohol. The American dem-
ocracy of the future wants no drunkards, but more than that it wants
a citizenship free from the minor demoralizations of alcohol. To this
end, we must pledge ourselves to maintain the temperance training of
all our children, confident that our public schools will go loyally for-
ward in this part of their great responsibility."
By request, Miss Stodddard gave, in closing, her latest condensed
statement regarding scientific temperance instruction in the public
schools :
"The Woman's Christian Temperance Union was primarily influ-
ential in introducing into the public schools of the United States In-
struction as to the nature and efiFects of alcoholic drinks, and other nar-
cotics. The work always has been based on the principles that preven-
tion is better than cure; that childhood and youth are entitled to know
the facts of modern science showing the dangers in the non-medical use
of these substances; that it is to the advantage of the nation that the
children be trained to the practice of intelligent sobriety. The laws
secured, at the instance of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union,
in practically all states requiring such instruction as a part of instruc-
tion in physiology and hygiene not only carried this special teaching
into the schools, but opened the door legally for all health teaching and
training.
"While the instruction is in the hands of the teachers the Woman's
Christian Temperance Union supplements it by reference material and
periodicals placed in school libraries, and conducts prize essays and poster
contests. Thousands of dollars annually are expended by the local, state
and national organizations in awards for these competitions in which
nearly 150,000 pupils of elementary and high school grades, teachers, and
normal school students participate. Special lecturers are furnished to and
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welcomed by the schools in some states, in addition to national lec-
turers who bring information as to material and methods to teachers,
colleges, normal schools, summer schools, and institutes. Exhibits of
pupils' work and of helpful illustrative material are shown at the edu-
cational meetings."
Dr. Valeria H. Parker, a governmental expert in the line of Social
Morality and national director of this department, makes the follow-
ing statement:
"Progress has been made in the five-fold program of social morality
which is fostered by our organization. The education of the child for
life in home, church, and school ; the establishment of community pro-
tective measures; the development and supervision of wholesome recrea-
tion ; the enforcement of laws governing moral conduct ; and the estab-
lishment of opportunities for treatment of those infected with diseases
which especially hamper racial development, are among the responsi-
bilities of the Christian citizens of today.
"A visit to those countries where vice is protected and official at-
tempts are made to regulate prostitution, fills one with gratitude that
the United States is among the countries which have abandoned official
compromise with this evil. We must not, however, ignore the need of
organized and continued activity in constructive work if we are to main-
tain a nation-wide protection of those forces upon which married love
and parenthood are based. Miss Grace Leigh Scott is our successful
Social Morality field worker."
The announcer says: "From the beginning the W. C. T. U.
bravely has championed the cause of social purity and the White Cross
movement, and it has helped to raise in many states the 'age of con-
sent' from ten to eighteen years."
Miss Rebecca Naomi Rhoads, head of the department of Soldiers
and Sailors, in speaking of "Our Purpose," says: "This department is
devoted to the best interests of soldiers, sailors, marines, seamen, coast
guards, and sea-faring men of all classes and lands, and operates on a
constructive program co-operating with the government in its welfare
work. We aim to bring to these men everywhere, especially in the
loneliest and most desolate spots and in the hospitals, good-cheer and
the homelike touch; to give them good things to eat, good things o
read, and good thoughts to think; to provide for them religious and
moral influences and arouse their interest in learning of the danger in
205
Women Torc h - b e arer s
intoxicating liquor and. habit-forming drugs; to enlist their interest in
the enforcement of our prohibitory laws, supplying literature to com-
bat the wide-spread liquor propaganda. To encourage the opening of
homelike places where they can have pleasant social influences, and the
right kind of relaxation and amusement.
"A large number of men are still suffering in the hospital from war-
time casualties, but I believe that through their recovery the country
will soon be freed from the support of these heroes. Every soldier and
sailor needs true friends to counteract the temptations which are con-
tinually thrown in his way. In Constantinople, I learned of the un-
published heroism of American sailors when the city of Smyrna was
burned. The coast guards have taken on thousands of men for pro-
hibition enforcement work and the W. C. T. U. should remember
them with gifts and magazines. Very few soldiers and sailors know
the truth about prohibition. They are the victims of an extensive
wet propaganda. However, I always have found them responding
readily to the truth.
"During recent extended visitations to army camps, including east;
ern, southern, and middle states, I have been much encouraged because
our nation's defenders have taken such thoughtful interest in our great
cause and have responded to the religious appeal. At some camps
hundreds of boys attended the meetings. I have an encouraging list of
signers to the patriotic roll with its total abstinence pledge. The com-
manding officers and chaplains are all cordial and express appreciation
of the work of the W. C. T. U. Soldiers and Sailors department."
"The Sunday School department," says the announcer, "was organ-
ized in 1877. Miss Lucia E. F. Kimball of Maine, the first superin-
tendent, served with distinction until 1893. Mrs. Julia Bidwell of
New York for one year ably filled the position. The present superin-
tendent of the department, Mrs. Stella B. Irvine, was elected in 1894,
In 1881, Frances Willard presented a memorial to the International
Sunday School Lesson Committee, asking for a quarterly temperance
lesson. In 1885, in part, this request was granted. The memorial of
1890, presented by Miss Willard at the Pittsburgh International Sun-
day School Convention, asked that the lesson be placed, not on the Sun-
day given also to the Quarterly Review, but should be assigned a distinct
place in the 'Series' — uncomplicated with other subjects. This memo-
rial was granted. The favorable action was confirmed in 1893 by the
206
Our Goilden Jubilee
St. Louis International Sunday School Convention, and again in 1896 by
the Boston International Sunday School Convention. Mrs. Irvine has
made this great department of Sunday School work known around the
world. Her bureau of literature, now carried at the National W. C.
T. U. Publishing House, for many years has given to unnumbered Sun-
day schools the facts needed for use in the Quarterly Temperance Les-
sons." Mrs. Irvine now speaks: "This department aims to accom-
plish the teaching of total abstinence with pledge signing in every de-
partment in the Sunday school co-operating with the World's Sunday
School department in the World's pledge signing campaign; it aims to
promote the training of the youth in Christian citizenship and to enlist
the adults of the Sunday school in social and moral reform and in the
enforcement law; also, to secure the co-operation of Sunday school les-
son writers and publishers of Sunday school lesson helps. The depart-
ment works to the end that the Sunday school training shall be em-
bodied in the curricula provided for week-day and vacation Bible schools
and community training schools."
"Temperance and Missions," says Mrs. Caroline McDowell, na-
tional superintendent, "is a popular, progressive department. It is un-
limited in its scope and reaches out to every W. C. T. U. activity,
extending the helping hand to every human being. The departm.ent
aims to secure a live temperance secretary in each local missionary so-
ciety and a missionary secretary in each local W. C. T. U.
"It is the church in action; it co-operates with church and mis-
sionary boards in America and other lands. As a vital factor in mak-
ing known the victorious program of the World's W. C. T. U., the
department of Temperance and Missions is not only national, but in-
ternational. In the United States, it is a powerful ally of all home
missionary work and is in helpful touch with the W. C. T. U. depart-
ment of Americanization. Life and memorial members ($100.00 each)
for the World's W. C. T. U. are secured."
"Mrs. McDowell," adds the annnouncer, "is a generous giver to
this work and for several years duplicated the money received for life
and memorial memberships in the World's W. C. T. U. Through this
department, the World's W. C. T. U. organizers receive much helpful
literature. Never have relations between church missionary societies
and the W. C. T. U. been so close and cordial as today. Through
207
Women Torc h - b barer s
Mrs. McDowell, the W. C. T. U. hag kept in close co-operation with
evangelistic and missionary circles."
"In its present development, one of the newest national departments
is that of Women in Industry, says the announcer. "In 1880, the
national Department of Temperance and Labor was created and has
had many titles. In 1895, the name was changed to Relation of Tem-
perance and Labor, and Mrs. Mary G. Stuckenberg was made national
superintendent. In 1905, Mrs. Mae Whitman became the head of the
department. She was followed by Mrs. Lucia H. F. Additon. The
present national W. C. T. U. director, Mrs. Laura Parks Miller, was
appointed in 1921. Under the title, 'The Spirit of Organized Mother
Love,* Mrs. Miller recounts the benefits through this department
given and received":
1875
1881
In
following
years
In the
80's
and
90's
Through
the
years
1917-18
(War Years)
Now
GAVE
First Creed of Industrial
Justice Adopted in Amer-
ica.
Friendship with railroad
men, Jennnie Smith's shop
meetings, religious and
temperance messages.
Street car men, firemen,
policemen, postmen, fac-
tory and mill workers all
included.
Discussion of "relation of
intemperance to capital as
well as to labor."
Support of measures for
physical and moral health
of workers such as shorter
work day, the living
wage, one day rest in
seven.
Health laws accelerated
especially for girls and
women entering industry.
Friendship with newer
groups of women.
208
RECEIVED
1191 conversions and
pledges in next two years
— wide influence for tem-
perance.
Better family life, chil-
dren reared in belief in
temperance, S. T. I. made
popular, votes for dry
territory.
With growth of scientific
temperance investigation,
support of prohibition by
employers on economic
lines.
Scientific support of our
pledge for growth of "law
and custom for justice as
opposed to greed of
gain," in growing under-
standing of alcoholism as
a result of industrial
fatigue.
Support by great numbers
of "labor" women as well
as "home" women.
Our Golden Jubilee
The national superintendent of Work Among Negroes, Mrs. Mar-
vin Williams, says: ''The department aims to build up stronger pub-
lic sentiment among the negroes of the United States in favor of total
abstinence, social purity, and prohibition, to the end that our vs^hole
nation may be strengthened by a better type of citizenship, w^hile raising
the standards of personal living and an increased number of godly
homes. It aims also, to cause an arrest of Christian thinking among
the white leaders of the W, C. T. U. in the various states, to the end
that a deeper sense of responsibility may be felt for the education in
W. C. T. U. principles of the negro race,"
"The aim of the Evangelistic department," says its national superin-
tendent, Mrs. Mary Harris Armor, "is, that through faith and prayer
— through the study of God's word and dissemination of the same —
the Woman's Christian Temperance Union may have increasing moral
and spiritual power, and in the midst of the strenuous activities, evei7
woman may hold fast her anchorage to the vital, spiiitual things that
*In all things He might have the pre-eminence.' "
The fervent, spiritual power that enabled Mrs. Armor to lead to
victory the women of her state when Georgia went dry, has ever been
hers, as she has given with fire and logic, in this country and others,
her compelling messages. By request, she sends out at this, time of re-
ligious, social and political unrest, the following call for prayer:
"Some one has said ; 'Whoever sets the church to praying will per-
form the greater service to God and man,' and doubtless this is true,
for 'nothing stirs the central wheel of the soul like the breath ot
God.'
"In the large freedom that has come to woman today, there Im-
pends a crisis such as the world never before confronted. In the past,
girlhood was compassed about with barriers which, while they meant
restraint, also meant protection. Today, there is not a barrier raised
in the social, industrial, or political world. Chaperones are a thing of
the past. Woman enters every occupation from digging ditches to
practicing law or medicine. In politics, she may hold any position she
can win; the whole field is open to her. If our daughters, entering
into this rough commingling with men, go in purity and strength of
mind and body; in dignity and self-control; and in the old sweetness
and modesty of womanhood — if they thus enter, they will purify and
glorify every place they enter; they will lift with tireless strength and
209
Women Torc h - b e arer s
Grodlike patience, until there shall dawn that golden age of which
Frances Willard dreamed, when 'Men and women, hand in hand, shall
stand on equal heights of purity and peace.' But if they lower their
standard, if this new freedom causes them to adopt the vices of men,
race degeneration and, eventually, race extinction must follow. Twen-
tieth century science says: 'The smallest dose of alcohol lowers the
moral tone and weakens self-control just in proportion to the amount
of alcohol ingested, and every succeeding dose increases the disaster.'
Oh, for the leaping fire of a great conviction which, in view of these
facts, will send us to our knees in honest, earnest, believing prayer!
Then up from our knees to go out 'with faith illumined and high heart
of grace,' and so preach the gospel of purity and total abstinence that
we may arouse every indifferent woman and persuade her to enlist in
the ranks of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. Only by bap-
tizing all work with prayer and following all prayer with work, can we
attain our end."
"Listeners in" again are invited to "stand by," for the resourceful,
treasurer of the National W. C. T. U. Mrs. Margaret C. Munns,
will tell her invisible audience how the Jubilee dollars have aided
many of these departments. Listen to Mrs. Munns: ''The financing
of the several departments budgeted under the Jubilee Fund, has made
it possible to secure the services of experts to lead these departments,
and as never before, the broad scope of the W. C. T. U. has been rec-
ognized. It is the day of the specialist and an organization that would
serve the present generation must have trained leadership. Very for-
tunate is the organization that can secure for a modest emolument, the
services of such leaders. It is the same self-sacrificing spirit that has
actuated the workers from the beginning, though volunteer service can-
not alwa5^s be given.
"The Americanization department conducted training schools in
Chautauqua, New York, New York City, and Chicago for two A'ears in
M'hich a number of talented young women were trained. Of these, six be-
came field secretaries and several others are located in Americanization
Centers where they are doing excellent work. With the hope of reaching
many more than could attend a training school, a correspondence course
was established which is proving helpful to those interested in learning
the best methods of reaching their foreign-born neighbors. Americaniza-
tion Centers were aided f*^^ one year in Bridgeport, Connecticut; St.
210
Our Golden Jubilee
Louis and Kansas Citj'-, Missouri ; for two years in Pittsburgh ; Seattle ;
Baltimore; Passaic, New Jersey; San Francisco; Flint, Michigan; In-
dianapolis; Cleveland and Omaha, Nebraska. Small appropriations
have been given the Centers in Carlsbad, New Mexico, and Emporia,
Kansas. The immigrant station at Ellis Island is supplied with a white-
ribbon missionary who meets the immigrant with welcoming hand and
sympathetic heart.
"The department of Child Welfare has fostered Mother-Child
Center? which have proved blessings to the hundreds of mothers and
children who have come under their influence. For over a year the
department maintained such a Center in Detroit and for more than an-
other year partial support was given. Help was also extended to
a Mother-Child Center in Toledo and among the colored people in
Washington, D. C. The largest contribution, $50,000, has been made to
the Child Welfare Research department of the University of Iowa,
the first to establish a Research department for an extensive study of the
normal child. Our Loyal Temperance Union work has been supported
under the Child Welfare division of the budget.
"The work of the fundamental department of Scientific Temper-
ance Instruction has won the plaudits of the world. The very neces-
sary maintenance of the high standard of this scientific phase of anti-
aJcohol education has been made possible by the Jubilee Fund. Scien-
tific research, which includes the invaluable findings of the New York
investigations, lectures before schools, colleges and teachers' associations,
the promotion of essay and poster contests and the exhibits at great edu-
cational meetings, may not be spectacular, but they are very essential in
reaching the coming generation with the truth.
"Without publicity, the world at large would never know the
W. C. T. U. existed except as false reports are furnished by its oppo-
nents. Our Publicity director can show many thousands of items clipped
from local papers all over the country which have been furnished by
her, concerning the work of the organization and the results of pro-
hibition. A correspondence course has proved a valuable aid to local
press workers.
"Social Morality is one of the crying needs of the day and the
department, through the spoken and written word, has made a valuable
contribution to a constructive policy for a higher moral plane for our
country. Especially helpful has been the direct contact with the young
211
Women Torc h- b barer s
people of the public schools and work-shops through the lectures of the
department. Because they believe prevention is better than cure, the
New Mexico white-ribboners founded a school for Spanish-American
girls who need home care. The Jubilee Fund has contributed $10,000
to this school started by a small band of workers in a missionary state.
"The department of Health, also financed by this fund, nas been
active and persistent in its constructive policy. The W. C. T. U.,
through this department, made the first contribution to the Woman's
Foundation for Health. For a year and a half the department of
Christifn Citizenship was financed by the Jubilee Fund. Mrs. Deborah
Knox Livingston's valuable contribution to our great program of citi-
zenship is M'ell known and the department has been a force for right-
eousness. Women who work for a wage comprise a large proportion
of tne adult woman population. To win these women to sj^mpathetic
interest in prohibition, to assist in securing industrial justice, is the
object of the department of Women in Industry. By literature and
by personal and visual presentation the department is helping the wage-
earning woman to a new vision of responsibility.
"With a number of department field workers busy here and there,
it was found difficult to route them from several headquarters witnout
loss of time. The routeing was done with great success by an executive
secretary of field service, and was financed by the Jubilee Fund. When
the Jubilee Fund was raised, there were many notable gifts, the largest
amount, $5,000, being given by Mrs. Caroline McDowell."
In recounting the Jubilee activities and gifts, the generosity of
Frances E. Beauchamp is gratefully remembered. Mrs. Beauchamp,
for twenty years the honored and beloved president of the Kentucky
W. C. T. U., was the first to respond to the national president's special
appeal for gifts of $1,000 to the Jubilee Fund. At the time the proc-
lamation for National Constitutional Prohibition was issued, the Dis-
trict of Columbia W. C. T. U. gave a banquet to visiting white-ribbon-
ers. Miss Gordon displayed the pen, one of quite a number used by
acting Secretary of State Polk in signing the proclamation. It chanced
to be the first pen taken up by Secretary Polk, and with it he wrote his
given name "Frank." Miss Gordon promised to use this pen to write a
letter of thanks to any and all givers of $1,000 to the Jubilee Fund.
Mrs. Beauchamp, with characteristic generosity, immediately sent to the
platform her personal check for $1,000. The liquor traffic had no
212
Our Golden Jubile
foe more determined and relentless than was Frances E. Beauchamp.
For a decade Mrs. Beauchamp was a general officer of the National
W. C. T. U. Her rugged zeal for state and national prohibition has
not been surpassed by any of her fellow toilers. For many years she
was a member of the National Prohibition Party Committee. Mrs.
Beauchamp was not only a prohibition warrior, but a great-souled
philanthropist and an indefatigable social welfare enthusiast. Hundreds
of young lives in the mountain schools of Kentucky were blessed and
brightened by Frances E. Beauchamp. Her home and her heart alike
were big and hospitable.
A handsomely bound Book of Remembrance containing hundreds of
names of well known white-ribboners and friends is kept at National
W. C. T. U. headquarters. On a beautifully illuminated page is this
inscription: "Each name in this Book of Remembrance represents one
hundred dollars given to the Jubilee Fund, the one-million-dollar thank
offering of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union in celebration of
its fiftieth anniversary."
The national treasurer states that during the fifty years a number
of bequests have been received. Among the outstanding bequests have
been those of John and Emilie Martin, which together amounted to
$25,272. Other bequests received were from the estates of Mrs. S. I.
Chenoweth, Ransom N. Chaddock, Daniel L. F. Chase, Loren J. Aus-
tin, Samuel Simpson, George Woodford, Mrs. Buell, C. E. Rumsey,
Mrs. H. B. Hudson, Ellen Mitchell, F. A. Pritchard, Sarah Douther,
M. J. Kenney, Louise Butler, Rev. Joseph Thomas, H. and K. Hunt,
Riley Memorial, Belva M. Herron, Mary E. Dodds, Alberta Pogue,
Eliza Warren, Mary C. Sturdy, Louise C. Purington, Elizabeth A. Rus-
sel, Agnes Stebbens, A. Nesta, Lucia F. Masslich, Maryetta A. Older,
Clara Austin Shrigley, Elizabeth W. Greenwood, and Sarah L. Adams.
In addition to these, two bequests have been received for the Frances
E. Willard Memorial Organizing Fund from the estates of Martha
Mairs Turner and Jennie Mitchell.
213
CHAPTER X
A Golden History,- A Golden Prophecy
"To be alive in such an age
With every year a lightning page
Turned in the Vi^orld's great wonderbook.
When every breath of common air
Throbs a tremendous prophecy
Of things that are to be.
When steel and stone and rail and rod,
Become the avenues of God,
A trump to sound His wonder through
And crown the work that man may do.
"O age of strife! O age of Life!
When progress rides her chariot high
And 'neath the borders of the sky
The signals of the centuries
Proclaim the things that are to be.
The rise of woman to her place,
The coming of a nobler race.
"To be alive in such an age!
To live in it, to give to it!
Rise, soul, from thy despairing knees,
Give thanks with all thy flaming heart.
Crave but to have in it a part.
Give thanks and claim thy heritage,
To be alive in such an age."
— Angela Morgan.
The national president gives these reasons why the white-ribbon
should be worn: "It is a blessed bond of fellowship among our mem-
bers; it is a privilege of which we are proud; it is a plea for purity
of life; it is a pledge of total abstinence; it preaches the international
prohibition of the liquor traffic; it proclaims the gospel of peace and
a world-wide family of nations; it is a prayer for home protection; it
predicts a safe path for children's feet; it is an emblem of patriotism;
214
Willard Fountain, Lincoln Park, Chicago, Illinois (above)
W. C. T. U. Float, Waterbury, Conn.
A Golden History; a Golden Prophecy
it is a protest against the drink habit and the liquor traffic; it is a
promise of hope to the tempted and help to the suffering; it prophesies
the coming of Christ's brotherhood in all hearts, all homes and all
governments."
On motion of Miss Margaret Winslow of New York, the National
W. C. T. U. convention of 1887 adopted a white-ribbon bow as the
official badge of the organization. Of this symbol Katharine Lent
Stevenson has said : "It is particularly appropriate for our organization
— its white the inclusiveness — no color, because combining all colors."
Mrs. J. K. Barney told many a sin-sick soul that it meant penitence,
purity and consecration. The badge is recognized and respected the
world over as an emblem of peace, purity, total abstinence and prohibi-
tion. In 1905, one of the trips made by Mrs. L. M. N. Stevens and
Anna Gordon covered nine weeks of travel and about ten thousand
miles. The ninety yards of white-ribbon tied into little bows and
placed upon new members by Miss Gordon, indicate the number who
joined during this trip.
A prominent educator and author, Louise Manning Hodgkins,
founder of the Department of English Literature and for years a pro-
fessor in Wellesley College, who is most heartily in sympathy with
the W. C. T. U., has the good fashion, when traveling, of wearing the
white-ribbon. Recently, she said to the writer: "Merely wearing the
white-ribbon may achieve something for our cause. On one occasion,
I was crossing the Atlantic and chanced to be seated with the officers
at the captain's table. Among the passengers was a liquor dealer going
to Africa on the ignoble errand of receiving at a West African port a
load of New England rum. Always over-dressed with diamond studs
and ring, even at breakfast, he ostentatiously made a wine-party and
invited many more folk than came. Next morning someone asked the
officer sitting opposite to me, 'Did you go to the party?' 'No,* he
answered promptly, 'I was afraid to face that white-ribbon this morn-
ing'— and yet the white-ribboner had not mentioned the subject."
For a number of years, the National Woman's Christian Temper-
ance Union at its annual convention endorsed three affiliated interests
over which it had no financial control but to which it gave cordial
sympathetic co-operation. The Woman's Temperance Publishing Asso-
ciation of Illinois, a stock company organized by Mrs. Matilda B.
Carse of Chicago, in 1880, owned and published a large supply of ex-
215
Women Torc h - b e arer s
cellent temperance literature and The Union Signal, the official organ
of the National W. C. T. U. The W. C. T. U. however, had editorial
control of its official paper. In 1903, the Publishing Association dis-
solved and the National W. C. T. U. purchased its official paper,
generous friends contributing to a fund raised for this purpose by
Anna A. Gordon. Since 1909, the National W. C. T. U. has created
and conducted a publishing house of its own. The Frances E. Willard
National Temperance Hospital of Chicago, which today continues suc-
cessfully to demonstrate the principle that alcohol is not needed as a
medicine, withdrew early in 1900 as an affiliated interest.
The Temple Building Association of Chicago, a stock company
with Mr. Marshall Field president of the board of trustees, owned
The Temple, the third of the affiliated interests of the National
W. C. T. U. This handsome office building at the corner of Monroe
and La Salle Streets, Chicago, was erected at a cost of $1,200,000 on
ground leased to the Association by Mr. Field. The heavy yearly
ground rental — $40,000 — wa§ each year the first financial obligation to
be met from Temple rental receipts. Mrs. Matilda B. Carse, a mem-
ber of the board of trustees and president of the Central W. C. T. U.
of Chicago, was the chief promoter of plans for its ownership by the
W. C. T. U. The untiring but vain endeavor of the National W. C.
T. U. towards such ownershop covered a period of eleven years. Wil-
lard Hall was the soul of the Temple Building. The strength of its
appeal to Frances E. Willard and the active workers of that decade
cannot be overestimated. Daily, it was the scene of a noontide gospel
temperance meeting, which perpetuated the old Farwell Hall daily
prayer service of the early years of the Chicago W. C. T. U.
Following the passing onward of Frances E. Willard in February,
1898, her successor to the presidency of the National W. C. T. U.,
Mrs. Lillian M. N. Stevens, with her co-officers and members of the
Official Board made every possible effort to carry to successful comple-
tion certain plans adopted at the Buffalo, New York, convention in
1897. This program featured an endeavor to raise $300,000 to pay off
the purchasers of Temple Trust Bonds, issued by Mrs. Carse "as an in-
dividual for and on behalf of the National W. C. T. U."
It became necessary to call a meeting of the National Executive
Committee to discuss the Temple situation. This meeting was held in
Chicago, July 15, 1898. After two days of careful, prayerful discus-
216
•"'•Itllli'
Historic Rest Cottage
The Willard
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Ssssto-iS"^^
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fe ' -
IP
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'""^■^if^^i/M
i
National W. C. T. U. Administration Building
A Golden History; a Golden Prophecy
sion, a resolution to be recommended to the national convention was
adopted, providing that all effort on the part of the National W. C.
T. U. to own the Temple Building should be discontinued, "While
not legally bound," the resolution stated, "we regard it as a sacred
trust to puchase before the next convention ,the $300,000 worth of Tem-
ple Trust Bonds issued by the promoters of The Temple enterprise." At
the National W. C. T. U. convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, a few
months later, after prolonged and dispassionate discussion, these rec-
ommendations were adopted by a yea and nay vote — 285 for, to 71
against; and The Temple as an affiliated interest was discontinued.
Many of the Temple Trust Bonds held by needy individuals were re-
tired, but, much to the regret of the committee in charge, it proved im-
possible to raise the entire amount of $300,000.
A visit to the National W. C. T. U. headquarters in Evanston, Illi-
nois, which includes the Publishing House, is well worth while. Rarely
does any national woman's organization possess so commodious and
handsome a building and such suitable, attractively furnished offices.
The budget of $40,545, appropriated from the Jubilee Fund, made it
possible for the National W. C. T. U. for the first time to erect and
own an adequate building and an up-to-date equipment for its national
and international service.
This administrative building in brick erected in 1921-1922 was
joined to the Publishing House constructed in 1910. An expansion of
the literature department was thus made possible and greatly increased
its efficiency by providing sufficient room for the growing business. In
1919, a new policy had been adopted which resulted in all department
literature being printed at National W. C. T. U. headquarters. Con-
centration of the stock of departmental as well as general liter-
ature proved an advance step. The amount of stock now on hand all
paid for, inventories about $17,000. The change in the situation
created by the passing of the Eighteenth Amendment necessitated a
complete revision of literature and the abandonment of much that was
in stock. That loss has been overcome, and the literature department
has been able to pay expenses. A catalog of sixty-eight pages gives par-
ticulars regarding the stock of leaflets, books, pledge cards, music, pic-
tures, medals, posters, slides and badges carried by the Publishing House.
Millions of pages of literature are annually sent out from this plant,
not only to every section of our own country, but to foreign lands as
217
Women Torc h - b e arer s
well. Miss Jeannette E. Nichols is the present business manager of
the literature department, with a staff of assistants. Mrs. Margaret
B. Piatt is the gifted editor. The national general officers constitute the
publishing board, of which the National W. C. T. U. treasurer, Mrs.
Margaret C. Munns, is the chairman.
The development of the literature department is noteworthy. It was
under the management for some years of affiliated interests not now ex-
isting, and later the literature stock was purchased by Miss Ruby I.
Gilbert who was assisted by Miss Addie A. Austin. In 1908, a com-
mittee was appointed to consider the feasibility of establishing a litera-
ture plant in connection with National W. C. T. U. headquarters.
This was under the management of the national corresponding secretary,
Mrs. Parks.
In 1910, the National W. C. T. U. purchased the entire stock. Un-
der the wise leadership of Mrs. Lillian M. N. Stevens, a building fund
was raised in 1909-1910. Without a dollar's indebtedness, and with
every detail planned by Mrs. Stevens and her co-officers at Evanston
this building was dedicated December 10, 1910 "to the cause of temper-
ance, the cause of total abstinence and prohibition, and the cause of
humanity." Skilled workers were soon at their several posts of duty in
office and shipping room, and the literature Publishing House of the
National W. C. T. U. was launched. Every year has shown a sub-
stantial growth of the business.
The memorial convention held in Saint Paul, Minnesota, 1898, the
first to meet without Miss Willard's visible presence, was the twenty-
fifth, annual meeting since the days of the Crusade. An hour was given
to "Crusade Memories," when fifty-two original Crusaders were on the
platform and conducted a service of great spiritual force and fervor.
Miss Anna Gordon was asked to close the hour. Expressing her regret
not to be able to share the honor of having been an original Crusader,
she suggested the creation of a Frances E. Willard Memorial Organiz-
ing Fund for the extension and perpetuation of the work to which Miss
Willard gave her life. Miss Gordon considered it a personal privilege
to make Mrs. Judge Thompson, leader of the Hillsboro, Ohio, Crusade,
a life member of the National W. C. T. U., and expressed the wish
that life members received at this convention and during the conven-
tion year might be contributors to a Frances E. Willard Memorial
Organizing Fund. This proved to be the spark that re-ignited the
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A Golden History; a Golden Prophecy
enthusiasm of the convention, and fifty-four life and memorial members
at twenty-five dollars each were quickly given.
At the post-executive Committee Meeting, on motion of Mrs.
Katharine Lent Stevenson, the seventeenth of February was designated
as Frances E. Willard Memorial Day and every union was requested
to hold a special service and to send two dollars or more to the Mem-
orial Organizing Fund. This fund in memory of the supreme W. C.
T. U. organizer builds in her name a living memorial. The story of
the offerings sent in yearly by local unions is one of fascinating interest.
The Frances Willard Memorial Fund has made possible the missionary
work of the W. C. T. U. Isolated places have been reached, new
unions organized and weak unions strengthened. National representa-
tives in the outlying "mission stations" — ^Alaska, Porto Rico, and the
Philippines — have been assisted. "Open house" has been maintained
during the season at National W. C. T. U. headquarters in Chautauqua,
New York. The Memorial Fund has been applied to aid work among
negroes, provide free literature for libraries, students, organizations
and individuals; posters, maps and charts for exhibit purposes. This
fund helped to w^in prohibition and ratification campaigns. During the
five-year Jubilee membership campaign, under the able management of
the national corresponding secretary, this fund helped win thousands of
new members to support the Constitution and aid law observance and
law enforcement; 19,618,000 pages of Jubilee membership appeal lit-
erature have been distributed by states, aided on the fifty-fifty basis in the
purchase of this literature from the National W. C. T. U. Field serv-
ice has been greatly extended by means of this Jubilee Fund, and it has
played a most important part in the program of activities for the Jubilee
Year. There has been received for the Frances E. Willard Memorial
Organizing Fund since 1898 (receipts for 1924 being estimated) $206,-
825.
January sixteenth will ever be to the Woman's Christian Temper-
ance Union a red letter day. It was on that date in 1920 that the
legalized liquor traffic in the United States passed out of existence.
"It is fitting," says the national treasurer, "that this day should be called
the Lillian Stevens Legislative Fund Day. The splendid service she
gave in unstinted measure always will be remembered and her name per-
petuated through coming generations. Those who were privileged to
listen to the marvelous address of Mrs. Stevens in 1911, in which she
219
Women Torc h - b barer s
pledged the National W. C. T. U. to highest service for Constitutional
Prohibition and declared that 'the God who hath led our hosts still
leads and by the sign of the Cross we shall conquer,' can never forget
the thrill of that moment, nor the absolute accord with which the vast
audience rose and consecrated its powers to the accomplishment of the
high purpose for which the dauntless leader plead. Though Mrs. Ste-.
ens was not permitted to see with human vision the victory day, none
can doubt that her spirit is with us rejoicing at the onward march of
the cause she loved so well, and her name will be ever indissolubly
linked with National Constitutional Prohibition.
"This splendid work is supported solely by the contributions to the
Lillian Stevens Legislative Fund. What nobler tribute could be paid
to that great-souled stateswoman, Lillian M. N. Stevens, than to perpet-
uate her memory in a fund recruited yearly to fortify and protect prohi-
bition legislation? Who that ever heard that deep, impassioned voice
plead for National Constitutional Prohibition can doubt that she would
feel honored to have every local union in the country, as well as indi-
vidual friends, contribute to this fund. Keep the legislative machinery
moving
"The Legislative Fund provides for the maintenance of National
W. C. T. U. legislative headquarters in Washington, D. C, in order
that the organization may be a force in securing Federal legislation and
promote many lines of public welfare of special interest to women and
children and the homes of our countr}^ This fund is the only one that
provides for legislative work. Each local W. C. T. U. has the privil-
ege of contributing at least one dollar a year to maintain it, in memory
of the fearless leader who so mightily inspired the temperance hosts of
our country to move forward to the supreme and successful battle for
National Constitutional Prohibition."
The Lillian Stevens Campaign Fund (later changed to the Lillian
Stevens Legislative Fund) established in 1914, has brought into the
treasury (receipts for 1924 being estimated) $61,040.
In the national president's home office in Rest Cottage, for many
years a "prohibition map" of the United States has hung. Visitors from
everywhere have watched that historic map grow from "black" to
"white." The original map had only three "white" states — Maine,
Kansas, North Dakota. When the Eighteenth Amendment was secured,
thirty-two states had their own prohibition laws, Kentucky soon falling
220
EDITORS OF THE UNION SIGNAL
Harriet B. Kells Mary Bannister Willard Julia A. Ames
Julia F. Deane Margaret Suddeth
Clara C. Chapin
Mary Allen West
Cornelia T. Hatcher
A Golden History; a Golden Prophecy
into line, and the remaining "black" states, most of which had large
"white" T^as, by Federal enactment became "white."
Already references have been made to benefits conferred by the pro-
hibitory laws of Maine and Kansas. North Dakota has the unique dis-
tinction of being the first state to enter the Union with prohibition of
the liquor traffic in its constitution, and to hold it, until prohibition be-
came the law of the land. In the long, bitter fight to keep and enforce
the prohibition law, the state W. C. T. U. has led. The state president,
Mrs. Elizabeth Preston Anderson, for more than thirty years has been
present at every session of the legislature and the pressure she has been
able to bring to bear upon the members, through the local unions in
their respective districts, again and again, has saved the day.
When prohibition was established and well enforced. Governor
John Burke (afterwards Treasurer of the United States) received from
the North Dakota W. C. T. U. a life size portrait in oil of Elizabeth
Preston Anderson and in recognition of her services for prohibition and
other moral laws, it was hung in the rotunda of the State Capitol. Mrs.
Anderson was the author of the Presidential and Municipal Suffrage
Law which passed in 1917.
The voice of The Union Signal, the popular progressive weekly
organ of the National W. C. T. U., is heard around the world. It is a
pithy, persuasive, powerful voice. The Union Signal gives incontro-
vertible facts regarding the success of the Eighteenth Amendment, the
Volstead Code and all progressive lines of work. The present editorial
staff consists of Miss Julia Freeman Deane, managing editor; Miss
Windsor Grow, who is also editor of The Young Crusader, and an as-
sistant editor. Miss Dorothy McAllister. Miss Deane has rare facility
as an editorial writer and in the line of research and securing valuable
contributions. In 1920-21, during Miss Deane's extended absence in
Europe and South America, Miss Vida Thompson faithfully served as
associate editor of the official organ. The national president is editor-in-
chief. Mrs. Delia F. Withers, at the head of the Circulation depart-
ment, is enthusiastic in her endeavor to increase the circulation of The
Union Signal so that the valuable news it contains may reach around the
world.
The National W. C. T. U. official organ has an interesting fifty-
year old story. In 1874, a committee to consider the establishment of a
National W. C. T. U. paper was appointed. In June, 1875, The
221
Women Torc h - b e arer s
Woman's Temperance Union appeared as a monthly paper, and at the
second national convention, was endorsed as the official organ... ,'he man-
aging editor from 1875 to 1876 was Mrs. Jennie Fowler-Willing. Miss
Margaret Winslow served in this capacity from 1876 to 1883. In 1877,
tJie promising literary child received the name of Our Union, and in
1878 was pronounced free from debt. In January, 1883, Tke Union
Signal, with Mrs. Mary Bannister Willard as its brainy managing
editor, made its first appearance. It was a consolidation of Our Union
and The Signal, which, in the west, for three years had represented the
growing W. C. T. U. work. In a "lead pencil letter," written while
"en route in Virginia," in January, 1883, Frances Willard sent to The
Union Signal editor this letter of congratulation: "My heart is thank-
ful as I write the new name of our organ for the first time. It is as
if two armies of allies had affected a junction and in united phalanx
were marching on the foe. It means the brains of the west plus the
brains of the east. It means progressive and conservative ; old plus new ;
mother plus daughter. It is a strong move and conducts to a strategic
position. Launch the good Union Signal ship, and 'Give her to the God
of storms, the tempest and the gale.' Nor ship nor character is worth
much if it cannot make its forceful way through storm to sunshine — ■
across the foaming waves into the restful haven." Mrs. Mary Ban-
nister Willard served as editor from 1883-1886. Between 1886 and
1889 the official organ was edited by Mary Allen West, Julia A. Ames,
Elizabeth Wheeler Andrew, Frances E. Willard, Lady Henry Somer-
set, Margaret Sudduth, Mrs. Harriet B. Kells, Jane A. Stewart, Mrs.
Katharine Lent Stevenson, Mrs. Susanna M. D. Fry, Mrs. Clara C.
Chapin, Ada M. Melville, and Mrs. Isabella Webb Parks. In 1899, Mrs.
Clara C. Chapin was appointed managing editor, a change from the
earlier plan of a staff of four, five or six editors. Miss Margaret Sud-
duth served as managing editor from 1902-1903. Mrs. Cornelia T.
Jewett, from 1903-1911. During this period Miss Julia H. Thayer
and Miss Alice M. Krimbill rendered valuable editorial service. In
1910, Julia F. Deane was elected managing editor.
The Union Signal in fact is a world missionary. A distinguished
statesman, living in one of the larger cities of Europe, thus expresses
his appreciation of the paper: "Recently I gave a public lecture on the
social and economic effects of prohibition in the United States of Amej-
ica, in which I availed myself of the rich and valuable information which
222
A Golden History; a Golden Prophecy
I have derived from the regular reading of The Union Signal. I can-
not tell you, by the way, how deeply I am indebted to you for receiv-
ing this paper of yours which has enabled me to form a right opinion
of the significance of the Eighteenth Amendment. For many of my
hearers, I daresay for most of them, the facts which I laid before them
were quite a revelation ; for our newspapers, which are generally speak-
ing under the influence of liquordom, are unfortunately making great and
successful efforts to withhold the truth about prohibition from their
readers, or to give them only a distorted view of it. Some of the smaller
papers of our city were represented at my lecture by correspondents, but
the most influential and most widely spread of our papers was con-
spicuous by absence of any representative, although to it had been for-
mally extended an invitation to be present. The liquor people of all
countries are fully aware of the immense importance of the legislative
reform you have achieved in America and are doing therefore their ut-
most to conceal the truth from the public."
The Union Signal publishes all the telling things the W. C. T. U.
is doing in many lines, including child welfare, scientific temperance in-
struction, Americanization, legislation, citizenship, social morality, pub-
licity, women in industry and young people's and Loyal Temperance
Legion work.
The W. C. T. U. for two decades has co-operated with the Chautau-
quas in every section of the country. In Kellogg Hall, Chautauqua,
New York, built by James Kellogg of Rochester, New York, in honor
of his mother, Mrs. Annie Kellogg, one of the first graduates of the
Chautauqua Literary and Scientific School and a pioneer white-ribboner,
a permanent place was provided by the donor for the use of the National
W. C. T. U. August 15, 1889, these rooms were dedicated in an im-
pressive celebration of the fifteenth anniversary of the date on which
the first steps were taken in the organization of the National W. C.
T. U. Bishop Vincent presided.
In the following letter of presentation, Mr. Kellogg appreciative!y
recognizes the influence of the National W. C. T. U. at the "Mother
Chautauqua ;"
"Cherishing, as I do, the most profound respect for the splendid
leadership and the sublimely splendid following which have made your
society the most potent woman's alliance in the world, I consider it
both an honor and a privilege to provide a place in this building, sacred
223
Women Torc h - b barer s
to the memory of my sainted mother, for the use of your representa-
tives. Organized, as you were, on these grounds, it is befitting that
here a choice and central spot should be the place from which the sweet
influences of your noble work should go out in blessing to multitudes
throughout the earth. I know that my beloved mother, always imbued
with the grace of hospitality, would as quickly open door and hand and
heart to your beloved organization as to her best friend. While the sun
of your glory was flooding the sky of the morning, her sun was sinking
into twilight shadows, but she knew of j^our successes, she sympathized
with your lofty aims, and esteemed it an honor, a jewel in the crown of
her old age, to be recognized as your friend.
"It is a credit to Chautauqua, famed for far-reaching projects, that
your grand association is recognized in its halls and on its platform.
I would say to those who gather amid the leafy groves of this 'fair
point,' stand by the noble women who, in God's name, care so truly and
tenderly for 'Home and Native Land.' May your widening inWuence
increase until not a spot shall fail to be illumined by the warm raj^s
of your careful thought and holy sympathy. May your successes be ex-
tended until the white-ribbon shall flutter in every breeze, the world-
adopted ensign of an all conquering host. May your allegiance to the
truth be an incentive to all Christian men to bind themselves in an in-
vincible phalanx for righteousness. Under 5^our v/ise teachings may a
generation arise, anchored in the principles of sobriety, to stand as
adamant against the hatefulness of strong drink, and for all that can
make for goodness, purity and truth." On behalf of the organization,
Mrs. Caroline B. Buell, national corresponding secretary, graciously
accepted Mr. Kellogg's gift.
The Frances E. Willard memorial window, in Kellogg Hall, gen-
erously presented to the National W, C. T, U. by Mr. and Mrs. John
C. Martin, was dedicated July 22, 1904, In 1908, a fountain was
placed in the grassplot in front of the memorial window. This was a
tribute from many friends. For ten years, the courtesy of the use of the
Hall of Philosophy for the four o'clock hour on Saturday afternoons
throughout the session has been extended. Attractive programs have
been presented by the W. C. T. U. hostesses, Mrs. C. F. Lindsay,
Mrs. M. B. Wilson, Mrs. Maude B. Perkins and Mrs. Jennie M.
Kemp. Group and evening meetings have been held at Kellogg Hall.
Beginning with 1898, the hostesses at Kellogg Hall have been: Mrs.
224
A Golden History; a Golden Prophecy
Addie Northam Fields, Mrs. Helen L. Bullock, Mrs. S. M. D. Fry,
Mrs. Mary B. Wilson, Mrs. Caroline B. Buell, Mrs. Emma S. Shelton,
Mrs. C. F. Lindsay, Mrs. Maude B. Perkins, Miss Helen G. H. Es-
telle, and Mrs. Jennie M. Kemp. Mrs. Frances W. Graham, national
musical director, acted as hostess at Kellogg Hall, Chautauqua W. C.
T, U. headquarters during the Jubilee week of August 11-16.
Scores of white-ribboners, presidents and members of adjacent county
and local unions, and many W. C. T. U. women, residents on Chau-
tauqua grounds, have freely aided, in countless ways, the official lead-
ers. Prominent among these gracious helpers were Mrs. Emily Hunt-
ington Miller, Mrs. Caroline McDowell, Mrs, Frances W. Graham,
Miss Florence Bullock, Mrs. Dorothy Wilson Rue, Mrs. Caroline
Leech and her daughter Carolyn, Miss Mary Mather, Miss Mary Mc-
Dowell, Miss Jessica Morgan and Miss Elizabeth P. Gordon.
As the National W. C. T. U. work at Chautauqua has been one of
the beneficiaries of the Frances E. Willard Memorial fund, the national
corresponding secretary, Mrs. Frances P. Parks, has had the supervision
of Chautauqua arrangements. She has rendered untiring and successful
service. Exhibits, at considerable expense, have been sent and installed.
For many years W. C. T. U. Day has contributed an annual, attractive
feature to the general Chautauqua program. As guests of the Chautau-
qua Woman's Club under the administration of Mrs. Emily Hunting-
ton Miller, 1888-1895, Mrs. B. T. Vincent, 1896-1916, and later of
Mrs. Percy V. Pennybacker, W. C. T. U. speakers always have been
welcomed.
The fiftieth anniversary of the initial steps in the organization of
the W. C. T. U. was celebrated August 16, 1924, heralded as W. C.
T. U. Day at Chautauqua. Here in the summer of 1874, Crusaders
attending the first Sunday School Assembly decided to call an organizing
convention to meet in Cleveland, Ohio, the following November. In
honor of this triumphant event a large audience assembled in the amphi-
theater both morning and afternoon. Dr. Arthur E. Bestor, president
of the Chautauqua Institution, which also in 1924 is celebrating its
semi-centennial, expressed his pleasure in the co-operation of Chautau-
qua and the W. C. T. U. in this commemorative occasion. The his-
toric background as it contributed to the future progress of the W. C.
T. U. was the theme of the morning exercises when the story of the call-
ing of the first W. C. T. U. convention by the valiant Crusaders as-
225
Women Torc h - b barer s
sembled fifty years ago at Chautauqua was inspiringly told. The Na-
tional W, C. T. U. president, Anna A. Gordon, the national vice-presi-
dent, Mrs. Ella A. Boole and Dr. Arthur E. Bestor, president of the
Chautauqua Institution, made the principal addresses. By invitation of the
National W. C. T. U. the afternoon program embodied the law enforce-
ment activities of the Council of Women for Home Missions, the Fed-
eration of Woman's Boards of Foreign Missions of North America,
and the Woman's National Committee for Law Enforcement. Mrs.
D. E. Waid represented the Council of Women for Home Missions,
Miss Elizabeth Bain, the Woman's National Committee for Law En-
forcement, and the chief speaker of the afternoon was Mrs. Helen Bar-
rett Montgomery, the noted Baptist missionary leader, traveler and
author. The National W. C. T. U. president presided, and presented
the high points of the World's and National W. C. T. U. program in
connection with the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment and the new
campaign for law observance and law enforcement. Representatives of
the seventeen states on the roll of honor as havmg sent delegates to the
Cleveland organizing convention were given seats on the platform.
These seventeen states were: Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, New
York, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Ohio, Colorado, Iowa, California, Illi-
nois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, New Hampshire, West Virginia and
Wisconsin. Profound interest centered in a group of original Crusaders
who were presented to the great audience and received tumultuous ap-
plause. Three of these, Mrs. Arminda A. Shaw of New York, Mrs.
Martha Beaujeau, and Mrs. Sarah H. Mossman, attended the tent
meeting at Chautauqua fifty years ago, where after praj^er, song and
discussion, these brave souls "buckled on their armor for a long cam-
paign."
It was foreordained that the National W. C. T. U., the organization
of "mother love," should early declare for peace. "The great peace
movement," said Frances Willard, in 1884, "seeking as its final out-
come a Court of International Arbitration, as a substitute for war,
promises more momentum to our home cause than any other; for, as
the chief cornerstone of the peaceful state is the hearthstone — so, the
chief pulverizer of that hearthstone is war."
When the Peace department of the National W. C. T. U. was
created in 1889, that great-hearted Friend, Mrs. Hannah J. Bailey of
Maine, was placed at its head. The principles of peace and arbitration
226
A Golden History; a Golden Prophecy
continued to be taught far and wide, and through the generosity of the
national superintendent and many state superintendents, children in the
public schools received prizes for the best essays on some practical
phase of the subject of peace.
At a Peace and Arbitration Congress held in 1907 in New York
City, delegates, including white ribboners from all parts of the United
States, from France and Great Britain, were present, all with hearts
moved by the same high purpose. President Mary E. Woolley of
Mount Holyoke College, asserted that "the fundamental principles of
the peace movement enter into the most common experience, for they
govern all just and pure living." Jane Addams' suggestion was that an
attempt should be made to solve the difficult problem by investing
the peaceful arts and peace movement itself with something of the
glamour and attractiveness that attaches to war. Later, Mrs. William
Jennings Bryan gave valuable plans in the same line. She states defi-
nite steps that should be taken, in order to place in the schools, histories
that shall emphasize the achievements of peace rather than those of war.
At the present time The Westminster Gazette of England voices the
opinion of a large part of the British Government when it says, "The
value of common sense given and taken between great nations is dem-
onstrated by the signature of the Anglo-American liquor convention.
It presents a notable instance of how apparently insurmountable inter-
national difficulties may be overcome by the exercise of patience and
good will."
The peaceful relations which ever have existed between the United
States and Canada are symbolized by a magnificent arch dedicated to
everlasting friendship between the two nations. The arch is sixty-six
feet high, built of plain solid concrete with portals twenty-five feet
wide — and a great space between them. It spans the Grand Pacific
highway in British Columbia in commemoration of the one hundred
years of peace between the United States and Canada. Across the top,
on the United States side is engraved, "Children of a common mother"
and on the Canadian side, "Brethren dwelling together in unity." On
the summit of the high peak of the Andes mountains stands a majestic
statue — the Christ of the Andes. The benignant figure of the Christ,
with uplifted cross, was placed on its commanding pedestal to forever
signalize the peace pact between the two republics of Argentina and
Chile. The inscription on the base of the statue reads, "Sooner shall
227
Women Torc h- be arer s
these mountains crumble into dust than Argentines and Chileans break
the peace that they have sworn at the feet of Christ, the Redeemer, to
maintain." In the address of dedication, Bishop Jard said, "Not alone
to Argentina and Chile do we dedicate this monument, but to the world,
that from this it may learn its lesson of universal peace."
The active white-ribboner of today is as interested in the daily
news from Europe and the Orient as was the early woman Crusader
in her immediate home area. At the present writing, W. C. T. U.
women are deeply concerned while watching America's connection
through the Dawes' reparation plan in the peaceful settlement of
Europe's financial difficulties. In his famous report, Brigadier General
Dawes says the diplomats on the committee are seeking to cultivate a
"universal conscience." This appeal to statesmen to "rise above the
small things over which the small so often stumble" may well be taken
to heart.
Rev. Ernest F.Tittle,D.D., of Evanston, Illinois, declared recently:
"It isn't enough to work for a World Court. We must actively engage
to make war an outlaw. It was thought once that slavery could not be
abolished. Is it not possible for us to create public opinion against war,
so that all differences of opinion may be solved by nations going to a
court, even as individuals solve their problems in that way. We can
have a family of nations. It is a possibility."
"National defense," asserted President Coolidge on July 4, 1924,
"is a necessity and a virtue, but peace with honor is the normal, natural
condition of mankind, and must be made the chief end to be sought
in human relationship." In regard to the participation of the United
States in the world court. President Coolidge has well said, "I am one
of those who believe we would be safer and that we would be meeting
our duties better by supporting the World Court and making every pos-
sible use of it. I feel confident that such action would make a greater
America; that it would be productive of a higher and finer national
spirit, and of a more complete national life." In a message to th^ As-
sociated Advertising Clubs of the World, President Coolidge recently
said: "As truth is essential between buyers and sellers, so in a larger
sense, it is essential in the wider relationship between nation and
nation."
All the national leading religious denominations have made recently
strong pronunciamentos in favor of "uniting their energies in a great
228
A Golden History; a Golden Prophecy
movement for a war-free world." The expression quoted is from the
report of the committee on war of the recent Methodist Quadrennnial
Conference. It is typical of others passed in church assemblies of all
denominations. The same opinion is held by prominent white-
ribboners, notably Judge Florence Allen of Ohio, and the distinguished
Assistant United States Attorney General, Mrs. Mabel Walker Wille-
brandt of Washington, D. C, and by an ever increasing number of in-
fluential people in business and professional life. Melville E. Stone of
the Associated Press awakened a patriotic keynote when he said, "I do
hope that there will be a time when some other people will feel as I do
that we have little respect for a man who boasts that he is one hundred
per cent American and not a one hundred per cent international man.
This country cannot isolate itself. We have got to participate in world
activities."
In 1921, the National W. C. T. U. was the means of arousing pub-
lic interest in the great Conference on the Limitation of Armaments
held in Washington, D. C. A mammoth peace petition to the President
of the United States was presented on behalf of the National W. C.
T. U. November 21, by the president, Anna Gordon. This petition
expressed the gratitude of these women to President Harding for call-
ing the Conference on the Limitation of Armaments and the prayer
that its fundamental purpose might be achieved. The petition, impres-
sive in size, the whole tied with white ribbon, the insignia of the W. C.
T. U., was more than one mile in length. It was circulated, signed,
forwarded, to Washington, and prepared for presentation to Secretary
Hughes within one month. Miss Gordon, in presenting the appeal to
Mr. Hughes in his capacity as chairman of the American delegation to
the Conference, said:
"This petition of 199,531 names, each signed individually, and in-
cluding appeals from national women's organizations representing a
combined membership of 2,256,684, expresses the gratitude of these
women to the President for calling the Conference on Limitation of
Armaments. It embodies the hopes and prayers of the women of the
United States, of all organizations and of all faiths, that such conclu-
sions shall be reached by the Conference as will mean success for its
fundamental purpose. The magnificent program given to the Con-
ference by you on November 12, 1921, has met with the loud acclaim
of the entire world. We pray that this keynote may be approved by
229
Women Torc h - b e arer s
the Conference in harmony with the prayers of those whose petitions
we bring you today, and of hundreds of millions of other women the
world over for Peace on Earth and Good Will to Men." With Miss
Gordon when she presented the petition were Mrs. Lenna Lowe Yost,
Washington, D. C, Legislative representative; Mrs. Emma S. Shelton,
Miss Claire Lusby, and several other members of the District of Colum-
bia, W. C. T. U. As a part of the petition went also the signatures,
in their official capacities, of national presidents of women's organiza-
tions. As a result of this Conference, a United States Treaty, in-
suring for a decade a beneficent peace, was consummated with all the
nations bordering on the Pacific. The question, "What does mankind
most need?" is answered by Rev. Ira Landrith, well-known to the pro-
hibition and peace forces of the United States. He says, "The great-
est need is 'pure religion, undefiled.' President Harding died with
the words on his lips. Woodrow Wilson once cam.e back from the
brink of his own grave to write almost these same words. The ideal-
ism of the great Peace Maker must be substituted for fiddling partisan-
ship and unholy greed. There are fifteen million graves on battle fields,
nearly every one of them the grave of youth that was denied the in-
herent right of youth to live for his country — ^while we fiddle over
whether we shall stop war or start another."
"War has had the first call on tlie flag long enough," believes the
W. C. T. U., and "war does not need to be made more alluring, but
less. Old Glory should be used more to glorify the victories of peace."
"When the women of Christendom resolve that war shall cease, it
will cease," declared Ruskin. Today millions of women are saying that
Vv^ar must cease, and the World's W. C. T. U. president voices their
thought in her utterance, "When Christ's Golden Rule triumphs in cus-
tom and in law we shall have reached the goal of international good-
will." The permanent lighting of the Statue of Liberty in New York
Harbor is significant of the fact that peace can come to the world only
with the illumination of education, justice and friendliness. Dante
said, "Give light, and the people will find their own way." The
Woman's Christian Temperance Union steadily sends forth the light
that shall help bring the day prophesied by Tennyson "when universal
peace shall lie like a shaft of light across the land and like a line of
beams across the sea."
230
r'^^i
The Loyal Temper-
ance Legion is a
human garden in
which are planted
our pure principles,
A. A. G.
Mary B. Ervin
A Golden History; a Golden Prophecy
The National W. C. T. U. from its earliest history has received
whole-hearted support from the Friends — that church denomination
which ever is foremost in advocating the Christian principles of pro-
hibition, purity, and peace. John G. Whittier, the poet and apostle
of the Friends, always warmly supported the W. C. T. U. One of
the general officers of the National W. C. T. U., Mrs. Sara H. Hoge,
president also of the Virginia W. C. T. U., is a minister in the
Friends church. Her long-time statesmanlike service for Virginia and
the nation has been freely given.
Rev. Charles M. Sheldon, in his description of the "ideal city"
pictures, it is hoped, the new era upon which the National W. C. T. U.
is entering.
"This is a city that shall stand,
A Light upon a nation's hill;
A Voice that evil cannot still,
A source of blessing to the land;
Its strength, not brick, nor stone, nor wood,
But Justice, Love, and Brotherhood."
In the year, 1915, Harvard University conferred on Bela Lyon
Pratt, one of Boston's eminent sculptors, an honorary degree because
"he taught bronze and marble to whisper his secrets of beauty and
power." White-ribboners always have been carving on the immortal
souls of boys and girls the truth regarding total abstinence, in order that
they may be living statues that radiate purity and power.
The importance of the study of child welfare was emphasized in
the speech of a profound thinker when he said : "The voices that spoKe
to me as a child are speaking through me to the world." Herbert
Hoover says: "If we could grapple with the whole child situation, for
one generation, our public health, our economic efficiency, the moral
character, sanity, and stability of our people would advance three gen-
erations in one — every child delinquent in body, education, or character
is a charge upon the community."
Looking forward to the work of the next fifty years, Anna Gordon
saj^s: "We should invest whole-heartedly time, prayer and holy en-
deavor to rally the children of the public schools, the Sunday schools and
our Loyal Temperance Legion. We should enlist the boys and girls
as workers for our cause today and as its Torch-Bearers of Tomorrow
231
Women Torch-bearers
in the new America that is to lead the nations of the world into the king-
dom of a safe sobriety and a righteous peace."
A leading educator has declared: "The business of the modern
woman is to prepare her children for the world." The modern woman
believes that it is her business also to make the street over against her
home, the town over against her home, the nation over against her home,
and the world over against her home, safe for her children. Today
there are no narrow limits to the boundaries of the home. Each child
has a world inheritance.
Mrs. Ellen Dayton Blair, of Los Angeles, California, who has
worked so successfully in the Loyal Temperance Legion, is the only
original Crusader who is still in active W. C. T. U. work. Mrs. Blair,
although an octogenarian, still works for the boys and girls — holding a
state and national office in the W. C. T. U. and has given service for
a life time. While pushing well to the front the youth and those in
the prime of life, the W. C. T. U. leaders never forget that "Age is
opportunity, no less than youth itself, though in another dress; and
as the evening twilight fades away, the sky is filled with stars invisible
by day."
Another invaluable asset of a nation is its youth — the high school
boys and girls. They are the "Golden Prophecy." The Woman's
Christian Temperance Union is visualizing the improved conditions
which await the youth of the future who, unhampered by the devastat-
ing effects of alcoholic liquors, will enter upon their high and holy
duties. To the W. C. T. U., "the Youth Movement" is, in its essence,
no new emergence. As early as 1874, this society began its work with
the youth. Organized, the Crusade meant the consecration of 30,000
young women in the Young Woman's Christian Temperance Union
to the service of God and humanity. By their side stood thousands
of their brothers.
Today, in the United States enthusiastic groups of pledged j'oung
women and young men are making many a meaningful gesture toward
the goal of a social standard that will popularize a punch bowl filled
only with delicious fruit juice.
A number of the religious denominations today rejoice in church
papers, which in substance say: "The Youth Movement is absolutely
opposed to alcoholism in every form. The millions of boys and girls
enlisted disapprove the drinking habits of their parents and want to
232
Frances J. Barnes
Grace Leigh Scott
Maude B. Perkins
Charlotte B. Eraser
Young Peoples Branch Field Day in New York
A Golden History; a Golden Prophecy
scrap alcoholism along with militarism and materialism." Hearty ap-
plause greeted the three young men who expressed these convictions at
the recent Methodist General Conference that represented a world-wide
membership of fifteen millions. There are different classifications of the
young men and young women who are dissatisfied with the present and
are declaring for a change. The W. C. T. U. is sponsoring those who
are giving to the world the basic principles of Christianity — a Chris-
tianity that in trade, civic and social contact "worketh no ill to his
neighbor."
"The oncoming generation," says Dr. John R. Mott, is out on a
quest for reality. There is a seething ferment in heart and brain. The
reality that the oncoming generation is seeking is to be found in such
a Christian organization as the W. C. T. U." "Youth Holds the
Key!" is today the watchword that indicates the spirit of the young
people of America and of many other nations. A young American
woman wearing the white-ribbon calls to young men and young women
everywhere in these appealing words: "Let us keep the door locked
fast against the liquor traffic and cry to the enemies of prohibition,
'They shall not pass.' " A more sacred, more challenging trust has
never been offered since the world began. The Woman's Christian
Temperance Union, fifty years ago, unmindful of creeds, dogmas, or
political differences, banded themselves together in Christian love and
in spite of ridicule and contempt, went out to fight in defense of all
who were oppressed by the curse of liquor. They cry to the Christian
young women of America: "To you from falling hands we throw
the torch: Be yours to hold it high!" The youth of America have
one supreme task — to prove to the world that a nation can voluntarily
destroy the liquor traffic within its borders. What account shall young
women of America render to the youth of the next generation?
Another progressive member of the young people's organization, her-
self a teacher, sends out this compelling call to those who are members
of her profession: "Our temperance task is not yet finished. Enemies
of the social order for personal gain, seek to break down the prohibitory
law. Patriotic Americans are rallying for the protection of the home.
To this end, we of the W. C. T. U. send out a clarion call to the
teachers of America for their renewed assistance in this fight. How
can you, as teachers, have a part in this momentous campaign? First,
by emphasizing through the study of biology and hygiene, the effects of
233
Women Torc h - b e arer s
alcohol upon the human system; second, by computing in mathematics
classes, the enormous cost in dollars and cents, of the liquor traffic; and
by showing through the study of graphs, the statistical reports of health
boards in regard to the ratio of deaths due to various diseases in the
three years before prohibition and the three j^ears succeeding; second,
by preparing lessons — plans in history and civics in which the immediate
or ultimate aim is the disclosing of political losses due to drink; third,
by work in sociology and economics, whereby the students can ascertain
the part played by strong drink in causing and promoting poverty,
crime, and disease; fourth, by joining the Woman's Christian Temper-
ance Union, thereby allying yourselves with the greatest organized force
of women banded together for the protection of the home, the church,
and the school. We need your help; you need ours."
At a great convention an intensely earnest young man, seeking
knowledge on the questions of the day, said respectfully to those older
than himself, "It seems to me these resolutions are so general that they
don't mean anything. What is the use of talking if we are afraid
people will understand what we say? We young people, for instance,
would like the question of war brought out into the open — and no side-
stepping."
One of the white-ribbon young women leaders enthusiastically de-
clares, "With the 'I hope' of Tennyson, the 'I know' of Browning and
the 'I can' of God, we'll yet completely overthrow the enemy." "Trust
the youth," says Dr. W. H. Foulkes, a noted contributor to The
Christian Endeavor World. "It is the spirit of youth that is always
the hope of the world. Let us be thankful for the resurgence of jouth."
It will be recalled that a mighty slogan of the prohibition campaign
that brought the Federal victory — "A saloonless nation by 1920" —
originated with a Christian Endeavor leader. The young people made
it resound throughout the hills and valleys of the nation.
In an address given at Washington, D. C, under the auspices of
the Intercollegiate Prohibition Association, Admiral William S. Sims
brought the issue very close to his hearers in the following words:
"It is rather a singular thing for a naval officer to speak on prohibition.
In my youth, the teetotaler was a milk-sop; he was not considered a
good sport nor a companionable man. The drinking of the young
men caused the forming of clubs for those who did not frequent saloons.
"I believe prohibition is here to stay. Do you young men pres-
234
A Golden History; a Golden Prophecy
ent here, tonight, want to join the class of cynical violators of the law?
If you do, the wets will supply you with plenty of arguments. If you
pay a man to get you a bottle of whiskey, or a drink, you are paying
for the services of the bootlegger who smuggles it in — you are, in real-
ity, a bootlegger. The influence of our young men on the future of the
United States will be great. In a few years, you will be the controlling
force in the nation. The future — our and perhaps the world's future —
will be determined by your mental equipment, your moral principles,
your clean flesh, your physical stamina, and your ideals of private and
national life. It is up to you to do some serious things — to form the
habit of thinking straight. It is my belief that if college students
should decide to obey the law in confidence, and if their example should
be followed by the great mass of students in all the colleges and schools,
the moral influence would eventually be such as to sweep out of of-
fice every corrupt official, and to create that respect for law without
which no democracy can succeed. No nation can resist the determined
moral conviction of its young men. The future is in the hands of
you young men and young women. More than to any other class
of citizens, it is up to you."
"The fellowship of youth is for peace," declares one of the Amer-
ican young men. "It is up to the youth of this generation to solvG
the war problem — before it is too late. The Youth Movements among
the European nations are sounding the one note of hope for a peaceful
solution of Europe's tangle of distrust."
A piece of statuary by Rodin, the great French sculptor, in the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, is inspiring to all
those who are working for the welfare of the youth of the world.
The rough outline of a strong hand is carved out of a small block
of marble. The figures of a man and a woman are being shaped by
the fingers of the hand. Rodin, it is stated, calls this piece of sculpture,
"The hand of God." White-ribboners see in it a great hope for the
new Youth Movement which is spreading in all lands. Does the
statue not prophesy that "the chaos of a mighty world is rounding
into form?"
In many nations even restlessness and revolt among students and
other youth, indicate progress. A significant incident is related in the
Iiiternational Record^ of a juvenile group of the national socialist party
in Vienna, Austria, seeking a room for its meeting. One was found
235
Women To rc h - b barer s
in a public house and the landlord, himself a socialist, agreed to let
it on condition that liquor should be absolutely prohibited on the
evening of the meetings. The result was that all similar juvenile
groups have adopted prohibition of liquors at their gatherings.
Sui Ling Wang, of China, (brother of Mrs. Frances Willard Wang
Liu) for three years has been a student in Syracuse University, New
York. In a leading paper of that city, he gives an intimate picture
of conditions in his home land. He says, "When the Youth Movement
came to play its part it understood the tremendous task of revolution-
izing our people's thought. It w^as the custom for venerable peda-
gogues to gather at tea houses to compose rhymes and to discuss
rather lightly the Buddhist doctrines. Young students generally fol-
lovi^ed the currents of thought, yet there were some young men of
will-power who saw the light and glimpsed the meaning of human life.
In her future development, as in her past awakening, China will con-
tinue to look to her youth for guidance." Sui Wang will some day
be a force in China, assisting his sister, Frances Willard Wang Liu
of Shanghai, and her husband, Herman C. E. Liu, (one of the leaders
in the Chinese Y. M. C. A.) in their educational and temperance cam-
paigns among the students and people of the Orient.
In a recent eloquent baccalaureate address, Bishop Thomas Nichol-
son called attention to the many problems the young graduates would
find as they journeyed along in the wilderness of doubt and faced many
bewildering situations. He said their commission was "to bring the
moral and spiritual life of today up to the level of the commercial,
and to invest their lives in great causes."
"Be true to the dreams of your youth. Hold fast to the high ideals
that flash upon your vision in hours of exaltation," many years ago
said that patriot and seer, Frances Willard. Today, Anna Gordon,
the president of the World's and National W. C. T. U., sends this
cheering message to the young people: "If a singing army is a vic-
torious one, the young people of the Woman's Christian Temperance
Union are bound to win. Their prize song that rings out triumphantly
in many a convention, is a challenge to all American youth:
" 'Though poppies are blooming in Flanders,
Hiding the Crosses bare.
The Spirit of Youth still is living
Ready to do and to dare.
236
Statue of Frances E. Willard in Statuary Hall,
Washington, D. C.
A Golden History; a Golden Prophecy
Out o'er the world Youth is marching
With emblem a Ribbon White,
Till it enfolds all the nations
In purity, peace and light.' "
Many and varied are the memorials to Frances E. Willard. Stately
school buildings in cosmopolitan cities, and modest structures in small
towns perpetuate her distinguished name. The Frances E. Willard
Settlement in Boston has made articulate and most successful one ot
her cherished ideals. Handsome windows in church edifices symbolize
her character and her humanitarian work. Children, horses and dogs
drink at fountains erected to her honor. Hundreds of local unions
bear her name, and Frances Willard's namesakes are legion.
On February 17, 1905, for the first time in history the legislative
wheels of the Federal government were stilled for a time to pay tribute
to a woman's memory. On this notable day. Congress accepted from
the state of Illinois, in accordance with the practically unanimous vote
of its legislature, the statue of Frances E. Willard, placing it in Stat-
uary Hall under the dome of the National Capitol. This action for-
ever commemorates the life work of one who is acknowledged to be
the most beloved character of her day, and the foremost woman of
the nineteenth century. Manhood was ennobled, womanhood uplifted,
childhood blessed through the lessons of that da}''. Strong, manly,
eloquent addresses were given in both Senate and House by the states-
men who eulogized Frances E. Willard, and many other men reverently
paused before the statue, speaking of Miss Willard as teacher, philan-
thropist, reformer, benefactor and friend. Among the hundreds of
visitors there were some, no doubt, who could not easily adapt their
views to correspond with the new order, but if this were so, they
were silent, and only words of praise and admiration were heard.
This beautiful marble portrait, designed by Helen Farnsworth
Mears of Wisconsin, a pupil of St. Gaudens, blessed the women whoT
stood so silently before it, some with tears in their eyes but with a
smile upon their lips as they were impressively reminded of the true
meaning of womanliness, spirituality and Christianity. It blessed the
children who made up the unique and inspiring procession, the like
of which was never before seen at the Capitol, as thousands of little
hands placed flowers at the foot of the statue and bore away with
them a visible reminder of Frances E. Willard which will be an edu-
237
Women Torc h - b barer s
cator in many a home — the statue medal presented to each child by
Miss Anna A. Gordon, chairman of the Frances E. Willard Statue
Commission, appointed by the governor of Illinois. These blessings
were by no means confined to the large number of people who were
privileged to be present in the Capitol, but they radiated throughout
the entire world.
Someone writing of the reception of the statue has aptly said that
"The heroes and statesmen in this Valhalla looked on in astonishment,
and when someone asked if Miss Willard had signed the Declaration
of Independence, James A. Garfield replied that she had, and was
worthy to stand among the immortals of all time, for he had heard
her voice and knew of her labor for the freedom of her people ; freedom
from the combination of vice and drunkenness."
On the pedestal are Frances Willard's own words: "Ah! it is
women who have given the costliest hostages to fortune! Out into the
battle of life they have sent their best beloved with fearful odds against
them. Oh, by the dangers they have dared ; by the hours of patient
watching over beds where helpless children lay; by the incense of ten
thousand prayers wafted from their gentle lips to heaven, I charge you
give them power to protect along life's treacherous highway those whom
they have so loved."
At the large evening gathering, presided over by the national pres-
ident, Mrs. Lillian M. N. Stevens, women from all over the country
participated in the program. Katharine Lent Stevenson's inspirational
poem was read, two stanzas of which follow:
"How great she stands!
A mountain-peak, her soul ;
An ocean wide ; a river sweeping on with full, free tide ;
A sacred shrine where holiest things abide;
How great she stands!
"Stand, radiant soul!
Here, in the center of our nation's heart;
Forever of its best life thou'rt a part;
Here thou shalt draw thy land to what thou art;
Stand, radiant soul!"
238
A Golden History; a Golden Prophecy
In commenting on this statue, Margaret Ellis said, "It makes this
historic hall seem homelike and peaceful. It points the way for women,
not only to stand amid the statues of the great and powerful of our
country, but to sit in council as well in national legislative halls. Many
times, when in perplexity, I have visited the statue and received the
strength I needed. Members of Congress of like mind with us say
that they have had similar experiences."
Another commemoration of Frances Willard, occurring many years
later, also is of lasting interest and influence. At the opening of the
twentieth century in the city of New York, there was established a
Hall of Fame for the preservation and exaltation of the names of
the great of our country. A board composed of 110 electors decides
once in five years what names shall be added. In 1910, ten distin-
guished men and women were elected. Included in that honored
list was the illustrious name of Frances E. Willard.
In the summer of 1921, a handsome bronze tablet, to the memory
of Frances Willard, was unveiled in the Hall of Fame, New York
University. A most impressive ceremony took place in the colonnade.
Many others were honored by memorial tablets. Each new tablet was
covered by an American flag which was lifted to the roll of a drum
and the sound of a trumpet. Mrs. L. M. De Silva, corresponding
secretary of New York state W. C. T. U., drew aside the Stars and
Stripes from Miss Willard's tablet, while Mrs. Ella A. Boole, vice-
president-at-large of the National W. C. T. U. and president of the
New York W. C. T. U. said feelingly: 'As a representative of the
National Woman's Christian Temperance Union, I have the great
honor to unveil the tablet inscribed with the name of Frances Elizabeth
Willard, which has been chosen by the electors for perpetual commem-
oration in the Hall of Fame for Great Americans, and which bears
the following inscription: 'Were I asked to define in a sentence the
thought and purpose of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union,
I would reply, "it is to make the whole world homelike !" ' "
In 1923, when in the Hall of Fame the bust of Frances Willard,
designed by Lorado Taft, was unveiled, the commemorative address
was made by Anna Gordon. Mrs. Boole made the presentation an-
nouncement, and Mr. Oliver A. Willard, a relative, unveiled the
portrait bust.
239
Women Torc h - b barer s
Impressively, Miss Gordon said, " 'Blessed are the inclusive,
for they shall be included' — a beatitude original with Frances Wil-
lard, characterizes this distinguished woman of rare, radiant per-
sonality. Today, this Hall of Fame where through the gracious gen-
erosity of New York University, mighty memories are to be kept alive,
is honored in receiving the portrait bust of Frances Elizabeth Wil-
lard.
"Frances Willard passionately loved humanity.
"Next to her belief in God, she believed in humanity. She was
a profound student and eloquent advocate of all great humanitarian and
social reforms. 'God bless the crowd,' ever prayed her yearning,
sympathetic, unselfish soul. She scouted the old adage, 'Each for him-
self and the devil take the hindmost.' She heralded the coming day
for which she valiantly toiled — the day when the spirit of a new adage
based on New Testament ethics, 'Each for the other that there may
be no hindmost for the devil to take,' shall usher in as a gloriously
established fact, the brotherhood of man, the federation of the world.
'Only the Golden Rule of Christ can bring the Golden Age of Man,'
declared this prophetic genius — this spiritual seer.
"Frances Willard was a pioneer.
"She came of pioneer New England stock, a direct descendant of
Major Simon Willard, the first Willard to come from the old England
to the new, and who was one of the founders of Concord, Massa-
chusetts. Another paternal ancestor was pastor of the Old South Church
in Boston and president of Harvard University. Still another was the
architect of Bunker Hill monument. Born in New York State of
intellectual, adventurous parents, Frances Willard became a pioneer
in fields of philanthropy and reform. Here her wide vision, her
patriotic fervor, her true womanliness, her daring faith, and her in-
vincible courage helped blaze through the jungles of apathy, ignorance,
prejudice and opposition, a trail that American womanhood today safely
and victoriously is following.
"Frances Willard was a brilliant student and a renowned educator.
"In her young womanhood as teacher, preceptress and dean of
women, she held many influential positions. She was president of the
first college for women entirely under the management of women. At
Evanston, Illinois, her long time home, she was Dean of Women and
Professor of Aesthetics in her alma mater. Northwestern University.
240
A Golden History; a Golden Prophecy
Thousands of young men and women pupils came under the charm
of her unique class-room methods and were indelibly impressed with
high and noble ideals of life and service.
"Frances Willard was a persuasive, magnetic orator.
"In the hearts of the people throughout the nation and the world
she kindled a conscience on the temperance question. She was the
most remarkable woman organizer of her century. She was one of
the first internationalists among women. Thirty-nine years ago she
founded the World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union and sent
out the first world-wide clarion call for the protection of the home,
for the outlawing of the liquor traffic, for the enfranchisement of
women, for courts of international arbitration, for an equal standard
of purity for men and women, for justice as opposed to greed and
gain, and for the triumph of Christ's golden rule in custom and in law.
Our Quaker poet, John G. Whittier, who wrote an introduction to
Miss Willard's first literary venture said of her as in later years,
she launched her constructive program of world activities: 'She knew
the power of banded ill but felt that love was stronger still; and
organized for doing good, the world's united womanhood.'
"Frances E. Willard helped make the world wider for women and
more homelike for humanity. 'She had the will to serve and bear, —
The will to love and dare.' Thus shall history's verdict immortalize
America's patriot, philanthropist, author, orator, educator, lover of
humanity — Frances Elizabeth Willard."
The writer has given only glimpses of the high points of the past.
If she could portray a composite picture of the W. C. T. U., it would
be the portrait of a youthful mother, a rarely endowed woman looking
hopefully into the foreground of an unknown future. Again the
W. C. T. U. is a pioneer, a forerunner in a new crusade and she
points the way to a forward, moral and spiritual movement.
While trying to keep up the swift pace required of a prohibition
patriot, white-ribbon women have been reminded of Lewis Carroll's
story of "Alice in Wonderland". The Queen, it will be recalled,
took Alice by the hand and together they started to run a race. At
last Alice, in a breathless condition, said to her companion, "We do
not seem to get an>^where. In my country by this time we surely
would be somewhere." "In this country," replied the Queen, "it takes
all the running you can do even to keep in the same place!"
241
Women Torc h - b barer s
In the early years of organization work the women when con-
fronted with the legally protected liquor traffic persistently declared,
"The liquor traffic must go!" Since the victory of Federal prohibition,
and the reaction of the World War, faced with the difficulties and
dangers from nullifiers of the prohibition law, an apathetic electorate,
gioup of self-centered politicians, mercenary propagandists of war and
a spirit of international hate, the white-ribboners are righteously de-
termined that "The nullifiers of prohibition and the war-makers must
go." The same high principles and progressive program adopted at
the first convention of the National W. C. T. U. are the identical
idenls being pressed today by the organization, and are in reality the
basis of action for all the allied temperance and philanthropic forces.
This practical, progressive program will be carried over into the new
era — the coming fifty-year crusade.
Recently while talking with Dr. Sarah F. Wliiting, long professor
of astronomy at Wellesley College, about the slow but sure progress
of reforms, Dr. Wliiting taught the writer a moral and scientific
lesson when she exclaimed: "It is like the precession of the equinoxes,
in that the sun and the moon work together to draw the equatorial
belt into their own plane; but the equatorial belt cannot move without
dragging with it the whole inert mass of the earth. The motion is
slow but continuous, but give it time enough and the whole heavens
are changed." Dr. Whiting, an ardent white-ribboner, well under-
stands how to reach the human inert mass, and many young lives have
responded to her temperance appeal.
Carlisle, in writing the epitaph of a great woman, used one of the
finest phrases in literature when he said she had about her "a soft
invincibility." Beginning with the Crusaders who not only prayed,
but used hatchets, the host of heroic W. C. T. U. leaders who made
possible the vast victories of fifty years have at times, in a womanly
way, displayed "a soft invincibility" — as forceful and explosive as
nitro-glycerine. When the word of the Lord came to Moses he
numbered the Israelites — especially the men of war. When the
word of the Lord, through the National W. C. T, U., came to
"Elizabeth" — the historian, she tried to number the women of war —
the peaceful war of the W. C. T. U. ! Since 1873, the day of the
marching mothers of the Crusade, an innumerable host have said, "Wc
242
A Golden History; a Golden Prophecy
are well able to overcome the enemy and to possess the promised
land". I
The gratitude of thousands of white-ribboners is most heartily
extended to the brotherly men of America — the best in the world — who
have rendered in so many ways invaluable aid in securing W. C. T. U.
victories. These men, it will be noted, are in a different class from
the politicians who fittingly have received the term of the "masculinity
superiority complex."
Those still facing the problems of the earthly life take courage
each morning as they think, "Every day is a new beginning, Every
day is the world made new." How beautiful has been the experience
of each one who has awakened some new morning to the life abundant.
These inspired lines strengthen our faith in immortality:
"On any morning think of
Stepping on shore and finding it Heaven,
Of taking hold of a hand and
Finding it God's Hand,
Of breathing of new air and
Finding it celestial air.
Of feeling invigorated and
Finding it immortality.
Of passing from storm and tempest
To an unknown calm.
Of waking up and finding it Home."
"The joy of life and of sacrificial service was theirs in fullest
measure — these 'comrades of yesterday now saints of God,' " reverently
aiiJ reminiscently says the national president. "Their beloved names
rre forever enshrined in our hearts. These warrior-souled comrades
have left their indelible impression upon our national work. Men,
w'ftmen and children of this generation and for years to come will
rise up and call them blessed. Their faith and courage triumphed
over all fears. We hopefully take up the tasks that they have laid
down. The memory of their devoted lives will incite us to pray with
theii faith and work with their courage, and so in the new crusade
bring our organization to even greater heights of power and influence.''
There is a new map of the world. It is stated by geographical
experts that ''fifty new political and territorial divisions have arisen,
aggregating one-fifth of the land area and one-fifth of the population
243
Women Torc h- b barer s
of the globe." Twenty republics are located in portions of the area
that constituted Russia. Others are in the territory once occupied by
Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Turkey, and still others are scat-
tered in various parts of the world — as colonies, protectorates or de-
pendencies. How to live together in harmony, is the vital question.
The United States Secretary of State, Charles Evans Hughes, presi-
dent of the American Bar Association, speaking recently in Europe,
said: "We worship with you in an invisible temple of justice, whose
votaries know no distinction of race, country or condition." Did not
this eminent statesman point the way toward a higher civilization?
It is not enough for America to have first honors in the recent Olympic
Games. Should not the United States furnish the leadership for the
democracies of the world? The program of the Woman's Christian
Temperance Union for the opening of the next fifty years will mafcc
more articulate and visible this "temple of justice" built by those who
know "no distinction of race, country or condition."
Guido's wonderful picture, 'The Archangel Michael and Fiend
Lucifer in Deadly Struggle" typifies our conflict with Alcohol. The
angel, "strong, serene and sunny-haired," as Frances Willard used to
say, is represented with his foot upon the head of his already prostrate
foe. "With one hand he is tightening about the monster's body a
chain of moral suasion, and in the other he holds the swift down-
gliding sword of law, while in constant motion are his out-spread
wings of faith and prayer."
"At first the Woman's Christian Temperance Union was but a
beam in the darkness, then a torch held up in the gloom, then a
'light in the window for thee, brother', then a beacon flaming grandly
out upon the most dangerous headland of the republic's coast, but
steadily it grows and gathers light, until at last it shall climb the
zenith like another sun and shed the healing radiance of its beams
into the darkest heart and most desolate home. Let us never be dis-
couraged. It is God's great beacon-light, not ours."
"Hold high the torch! You did not light its glow:
*Twas given you from other hands, you know.
'Tis only yours to keep it burning bright,
Yours to pass on when you no more need light.
For there are little feet that you must guide.
And little forms go marching by your side;
244
A Golden History; a Golden Prophecy
Their eyes are watching every tear and smile,
And efforts that you think are not worth while
May sometimes be the very helps they need,
Actions to which their souls would give most heed.
So that in turn they'll lift it high and say,
'I watched my mother carry it this way.' "
It is hoped that history's verdict upon the women torch-bearers
shall be, "By God's blessing they helped to make the world wider
for women and more homelike for humanity."
245
APPENDIX
Woman's Christian Temperance Union
History Of Fifty Years
CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY
1874-1924
Woman's Temperance Crusade
1873-1874
National Woman's Christian Temperance Union
The First Decade: 1874-1884
1874 Woman's Temperance Crusade continued from 1873.
1874 August 16: Crusaders at Chautauqua issue call for organizing
convention.
1874 November 18-20: National Woman's Christian Temperance
Union organized in Cleveland, Ohio — Officers elected: Presi-
dent, Mrs. Annie Wittenmyer; corresponding secretary, Frances
E. Willard; recording secretary, Mrs. Mary C. Johnson;
assistant recording secretary, Mrs. Mary T. Burt; treasurer,
Mrs. W. A. Ingham.
1876 Huge W. C. T. U. petition for Constitutional Prohibition pres-
ented to Congress by Senator Henry W. Blair of New Hamp-
shire. Frances Willard addressed the Judiciary Committee on
its behalf.
1879 Frances E. Willard elected president at Indianapolis convention.
1880 The term, "Superintendent of Department," substituted for
"Standing Committee." Nearly all departments now existing
were adopted in this decade — many of them under different
names. Some of the early departments have been merged into
those of today.
1882 Secured enactment in Vermont of Scientific Temperance Edu-
cation Law — the first in all the world. In twenty years every
state and the Congress had passed similar laws.
1883 Nation-wide organization tour of Frances Willard and Anna
Gordon; many southern and western states organized.
246
Appendix: Chronological Summary
1883 The official organ Our Unio?i consolidated with The Signal
of Illinois. The t/nion Signal made its first appearance on
January 4.
1883 National convention in Detroit, Michigan; departments of work
classified under heads of Organization, Preventive, Educational,
Evangelistic, Social and Legal.
1883 World's W. C. T. U. organized.
The high points of the first decade were: Organization of the
W. C. T. U. ; "Declaration of Principles" written by Frances
Willard; "Do Everything Policy" resulting in department work;
Scientific Temperance Instruction in the public schools developed
by Mary Hanchett Hunt, national superintendent ; first memorial
to the International Sunday School Association, asking for a
quarterly temperance lesson ; petitions introduced into Congress.
The Second Decade: 1884-1894
1884 Petition addressed to all the governments of the world, called
the "Pol5'glot", written and sent out by Frances Willard. It
asked for the prohibition of the manufacture and sale of alco-
holic liquors, opium, and legalized vice.
1885 W. C. T. U. constitutional amendment adopted requiring ten
cents per member dues from state auxiliaries.
1886 An affiliated interest — the National Temperance Hospital and
Training School for Nurses — established; Mrs. J. B. Hobbs,
Mrs. L. H. Plumb and Dr. Mary Weeks Burnett, managers.
1889 An affiliated interest — the Woman's Temperance Publishing
Association founded; President, Mrs. Matilda B. Carse; editor.
Miss Alice M. Guernsey; advisory committee. National W. C.
T. U. president. National W. C. T. U. secretary.
1889 W. C. T. U. Lecture Bureau established.
1889 The Oak and Ivy Leaf, organ of the Young Woman's Christian
Temperance Union founded; editors. Miss Margaret A. Sud-
duth, Miss Jennie A. Stewart.
1890 The International Sunday School Convention held at Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, granted a Quarterly Temperance Lesson, distinct
and uncomplicated with any other subject.
1891 First World's W. C. T. U. convention held at Faneuil Hall,
Boston, Massachusetts.
247
Women Torc h - b e arer s
1893 World's and National W. C. T. U. conventions held in Chi-
cago, Illinois, in connection with the Columbian Exposition.
In this second decade there was marked development in de-
partment plans and programs. For convenience, the data about
all departments up to 1924 is included. The date the depart-
ment was adopted is first given, and the list is alphabetically ar-
ranged.
Anti-Narcotics: (1884) Superintendents: Mrs. Mary Bynon Reese;
(1886 — Changed to Department of Narcotics) Mrs. J. H, Harris,
Mrs. E. B. Ingalls; (1898 — Changed to Anti- Narcotics) Mrs. Alta
Bohren, Miss Helen G. H. Estelle.
Child PF elf are: (1907) (Juvenile Courts, Industrial Education, and
Anti-Child Labor). Superintendent: Mrs. Minnie U. Rutherford.
Associate; To prevent employment of young children, Mrs. Harriet
B. Kells. (1917 — Department name changed to Child Welfare).
Superintendents: Mrs. Minnie U. Rutherford, Mrs. Elizabeth A.
Perkins.
Christian Citizenship: (1896) Superintendents: Mrs. Anna F. Beiler,
Miss Lucy Page Gaston, Mrs. Margaret Dye Ellis, Mrs. C. B.
Buell, Mrs. Mary Jewett Telford, Mrs. Helen D. Harford, Mrs.
Emma L. Starrett, Mrs. Deborah Knox Livingston, Mrs. Ida B.
Wise Smith.
Evangelistic: (1883) Superintendents: Mrs. Hannah Whitall Smith,
Mrs. Annie Palmer, Mrs. S. M. I. Henry, Miss Helen L. Hood,
Miss Elizabeth W. Greenwood, Rev. Mary E. Kuhl, Rev. Helen
Hyde Carlson, Mrs. Mary Harris Armor.
(1898) Almshouse Work was added to this department.
Fairs and Open Air Meetings: (1880) (State and County Fairs) Super-
intendents: Mrs. G. A. Moody, Mrs. Mary A. Leavitt, Mrs. Jose-
phine R. Nichols, Mrs. M. C. Campfield, Mrs. Clara V. Weaver,
Mrs. Rebecca B. Chambers, Mrs. Hannah T. Guild; (1902— Name
changed to Fairs and Open Air Meetings) Mrs. Julia D. Phelps,
Mrs. Carolyn P. Lindsay. (1920 — Name changed to Exhibits and
Fairs).
Flower Mission: (1883) Superintendents: Miss Jennie Cassedaj^ Miss
Gertrude Ferguson, Miss Alice Sudduth, Mrs. Angie F. Newman,
Miss Ethel Austin Shrlgley, Miss Leila M. Sewall, Miss Etta F.
Lockwood, Miss Leila M. Sewall.
248
A p p E N D I x: Chronological Summary
Franchise: (1881) Qjmmittee: Frances E, Willard, Mary A. Liver-
more, J. Ellen Foster. Superintendents: Mrs. Mary G. C. Leavitt,
Mrs. Zerelda G. Wallace, Rev. Anna H. Shavvr, Mrs. Theresa A.
Jenkins, Dr. Louise C. Purington, Mis§ Marie C. Brehm, Mrs. Ella
Stewart, Dr. Maude Mcllvaine Sanders, Rev. Mecca Marie Varney,
Mrs. Sophie L, Clark, Mrs. Deborah Knox Livingston. (1918 — De-
partment name changed to Suffrage) (1920 — Mrs. Livingston carried
on the work in the department of Christian Citizenship).
Health and Heredity. (1881) (Heredity) Superintendents: Dr. Sarah
Hackett Stevenson, Mrs. M. L. Griffith, Mrs. J. H. Kellogg, Dr.
Mary Weeks Burnett, Dr. Orpha Baldwin, Mrs. R. A. Armstrong,
Dr. Annette J. Shaw; (Health) Dr. Bessie Cushman, Miss Mary
H. Mather, Dr. Orpha Baldwin, Dr. Annette J. Shaw, Miss Julia
Colman. (1894 — Departments combined under the name of Health
and Heredity) Miss Julia Colman, Dr. Louise C. Purington; (1914
— Health and Heredity and Physical Education combined under
Health) Mrs. Frances Waite Leiter, Dr. P. S. Bourdeau-Sisco.
Institutes: (1889) (School of Methods) Superintendents: Miss Mary
Allen West, Mrs. Narcissa White Kinney. (1894 — School of Meth-
ods and Parliamentary Usage) Mrs. Anna S. Benjamin. (1900 —
Changed to W. C. T. U. Institutes) Mrs. Mary Hadley Hall, Mrs.
Margaret C. Munns, Mrs. Lettie Hill May, Mrs. Anna Marden
De Yo.
Kindergarten: (1884) Superintendents: Mrs. E. G. Greene, Miss
Lily Reynolds, Miss Mary McDowell, Miss Mary Bannister Wil-
lard, Miss Jennie M. Williamson, Miss Martha Crombie Wood,
Miss Clara Wheeler.
Legislation: (1874) Standing Committee: Mrs. Annie Wittenmyer,
Mrs. Mary A. Woodbridge, Mrs. J. Ellen Foster. (1880) Super-
intendents: Mrs. J. Ellen Foster, Mrs. Mary A. Woodbridge, Mrs.
Ada M. Bittenbender, Mrs. Catharine Waugh McCulloch, Mrs.
Frances Belford, Mrs. Mary Towne Burt, Mrs. Margaret Dye Ellis,
Mrs. Lenna Lowe Yost.
Loyal Temperance Legion: (1874) (Juvenile Work) Committees:
(1880) Superintendents: Miss Elizabeth W. Greenwood, Mrs.
Nellie H. Bayley, Mrs. Anna M. Hammer, Mrs. Helen G. Rice,
Miss Margaret Wintringer, (1890 — Department changed from Ju-
venile Work to Loyal Temperance Legion) (1895 — Changed from
249
Women Torc h - b barer s
a department to a Branch) Mrs. Culla J. Vayhinger, Miss Edna
Rowan, Miss Mary B. Ervin.
Literature: (1877) Superintendents: Miss Julia Colman, Mrs. F. H.
Rastall, Mrs. Katharine Lent Stevenson, Mrs. Esther T. Housh,
Miss Helen L. Hood, Miss Ellen D. Morris, Mrs. Mae A. Davis,
Mrs. Susanna M. D. Fry, Miss Addie A. Austin. Literature carried
by National W. C. T. U. Publishing House. (1915— National de-
partment discontinued. )
Medal Contests: (1896) Superintendents: Mrs. A. E. Carman. (1897)
(W. C. T. U. and Demorest Contests Systems united.) Mrs. Maude
Carman Cathcart.
Medical Temperance: (1883) Superintendents: Miss Jennie P. Duty,
Mrs. J. Butler, Mrs. Caroline A. Leech; In 1895, Mrs. Martha M.
Allen.
Mercy: (1890) Superintendent, Mrs. Mary F. Lovell ; (1916 Trans-
ferred to Loyal Temperance Legion Branch.)
Purity: (1875) (Suppression of Social Evil) (1880) Mrs. Dr. J. H.
Kellogg; (1886 — Name changed to Social Purity) Frances E. Wil-
lard; (1888 — Changed to Department of White Cross and White
Shield) (1890— Promotion of Social Purity) (1892— Department of
Purity) Dr. Mary Wood Allen, Mrs. Helen L. Bullock; (1907—
Moral Education) (1908— Purity) Mrs. Rose Wood Allen Chap-
man; (1908 — Mothers Meetings and White Ribbon Recruits) Mrs.
Helen L. Bullock; (1911— Curfew) Miss Mary E. Brown; (1912—
Purity) Mrs. Leona T. Field; (1913 — Curfew and Policewomen)
Miss Mary E. Brown; (1914 — Mothers Meetings, White Ribbon
Recruits and Purity) Mrs. Helen L. Bullock; (1916— Moral Edu-
cation and Race Betterment) Miss Mary E, Brown; (1917 —
Mothers Meetings and White Ribbon Recruits) Mrs. Frances B.
Heald; Mrs. Susan McWhirter Ostrom; (1920— Social Morality)
Mrs. Gertrude S. Martin, Dr. Valeria H. Parker.
Parliamentary Usage: (1887) Superintendents: until 1917 — thirty con-
secutive years — Mrs. Anna S. Benjamin; Mrs. L W. Gleason.
Peace and International Arbitration: (1888) Superintendents: Mrs.
Hannah J. Bailey, Mrs. William J. Bryan, Mrs. Ida DeGarmo,
Miss Alice L. Kercher, Mrs. Effie Danforth McAfee.
Penal and Reformatory Work: (1877) Standing Committee: Mrs.
W. K. Denny, chairman. (1878-1890) Superintendent: Mrs. J. K.
250
Appendix: Chronological Summary
Barney. (1891) Department divided into three parts: Mrs. Mary-
Teats, superintendent of Prison and Jail Work; Miss C. E. Coffin,
of Police Station Work; Miss M. A. Morrison, of Almshouse Work.
(1892) Mrs. Jane M. Kinney, superintendent of Penal Work. Mrs.
Emma L. Starrett, Mrs. Minnie B. Horning. (1898) Almshouse
Work given to Evangelistic Department. (1915) Department changed
to Prison Reform.
The Press: (1874) Chairmen of Standing Committees: Mrs. L. M.
N. Stevens, Mrs. A. C. Hillyer. (1880) Superintendents: Miss Marj^
C. Bancroft, Miss Laura Moore, Mrs. Caroline B. Buell, Mrs. Esther
T. Housh, Miss Mary Henry, Miss Julia A. Ames, Miss Alice E.
Briggs, Mrs. Harriet B. Kells, Miss Lodie Reed, Mrs. Katharine
Lent Stevenson, Mrs. Minnie B. Horning, Miss Eva Kilbreth Fos-
ter, Mrs. Jennie M. Kemp, Mrs. Mildred A. Spencer, Mrs. Susan
McWhirter Ostrom, Mrs. Margaret B. Piatt; (1919— Publicity)
Mrs. Clara C. Chapin, Mrs. Anna P. George, Miss Bertha Bov^^man,
Mrs. Rosalind Scott Dunkin.
Purity in Literature and Art: (Suppression of Impure Literature)
(1884) Superintendents: Miss Lucy J. Holmes, Mrs. Naomi Tom-
linson, Mrs. Deborah Leeds, Mrs. Samuel Clements. (1890) under
the title of Purity in Literature and Art this department became a
sub-division of the department of Purity w^ith Mrs. Emilie D. Martin
as superintendent; Mrs. Harriet Pritchard.
Sabbath Observance: (1884) (Suppression of Sabbath Desecration)
Superintendents : Mrs. Josephine Bateham, Mrs. Varila F. Cox, Mrs.
Kathryn Wert Holler, Mrs. Susan McWhirter Ostrom, Mrs. Kate
C. Heidel, Mrs. L. E. Hudson, Mrs. Emma L. Starrett.
Scientific Temperance Instruction: (1874) Teaching in public schools
and Sunday Schools outlined in Plan of Work. Inaugurated under
committee on Juvenile Work, Frances Willard, chairman. (1878)
Mrs. S. J. Steele, chairman of Committee on Colleges, Seminaries
and Public Schools. (1880) Superintendents: Mrs. Mary H. Hunt,
Mrs. Edith Smith Davis, Mrs. Elizabeth O. Middleton, Miss Cora
Frances Stoddard.
School Savings Banks: (1891) Superintendent: Mrs. Sara Louise
Oberholtzer (1916) transferred to Loyal Temperance Legion Branch
Social Meetings and Red Letter Days: (1880) Drawing Room Meet-
ings) Superintendents: Mrs. Mary C. Johnson, Mrs. Margaret
251
Women Torc h- bearer s
Bottome, Mrs. Harriet B. Kells, Mrs. Anna M. Hammer, Mrs.
Mary D. Tomlinson. (1900) Department changed to Social Meet-
ings and Red Letter Days. Mrs. Mary D. Tomlinson.
Sunday School: (1874) Committee: Chairman, Mrs. E. J. Hackett,
Miss Lucia E. F. Kimball. (1880) Superintendents: Miss Lucia
E. F. K*imball, Mrs. Julia Bidwell, Mrs. Stella B. Irvine.
Temperance and Labor: (1881) Superintendents: Mrs. M. C. Nobles,
Mrs. W. S. Woods. Mrs. C. S. Jackson, Mrs. Augusta Cooper, Mrs.
Anna Sneed Cairns, Mrs. S. E V. Emery, Mrs. Mary G. Stucken-
berg, Mrs. Mae M. Whitman, Mrs. Lucia H. F. Additon. (1921—
Department changed to Women in Industry) Mrs. Laura Parks
Miller.
Temperance and Missions: (1907) Superintendents: Miss Ella Gil-
bert Ives, Dr. Louise C. Purington, Mrs. Caroline McDowell.
The Bible in the Public Schools: (1911) Superintendents: Mrs. Jean
B. Wylie, Mrs. Lettie Hill May.
Work Among Colored People: (1880) Sub-divisions. (1881) Super-
intendents: Mrs. Jane M. Kinney, Mrs. Frances E. Harper, Mrs.
J. E. Ray, Mrs. Lucy Thurman, Mrs. E. E. Peterson, Mrs. Marvm
Williams.
Work Among Foreigners: (1880) Superintendent: Miss Sarah P.
Morrison. (1881) Different divisions of the department headed by
Mrs. Henrietta Skelton, Mrs. Mary Stapler, Mrs. R. A. Hull,
Miss Saugstad, Mrs. Jane M. Kinney. (1883-1899) Mrs. Sophie
F. Grubb, Mrs. Anna J. Darley, Mrs. Cornelia B. Forbes, Mrs.
Mary B. Wilson, Mrs. Ella B. Black. (1918— Department of Amer-
icanization) Mrs. Katharine Lent Stevenson, Mrs. Mary Clark
Barnes, Mrs. Culla J. Vayhinger.
Work Among Indians: (1884) Superintendents: Mrs. H. C. McCabe,
Mrs. Dorothy J. Cleveland, Mrs. Dorcas J. Spencer. (1916) Trans-
ferred to Christian Citizenship Department.
Work Among Lumbermen and Miners: (1883) Superintendents:
Mrs. R. G. Peters, Mrs. Emma Obenauer, Mrs. Mary C. Upham,
Mrs. Winnie F. English, Mrs. Emma Shores, Mrs. W. A. Loyne,
Mrs Mary E. Kuhl, Mrs. Anna A. Walker. (1916) Transferred
to Christian Citizenship department.
Work Among Railroad Employes: (1881) Superintendents: Miss
Jennie Smith, Mrs. Caroline M. Woodward, Mrs. Evalyn N.
252
^A ppENDix: Chronological Summary
Graham. Railroad Evangelist, Miss Jennie Smith. (1916) Trans-
ferred to Christian Citizenship Department.
Work Among Soldiers and Sailors: (1881) Superintendents: Mrs.
Sarah A. McClees, Mrs. Ella Hoover Thacher, Mrs. Richmond
Pearson Hobson, Mrs. Louise F. Chez, Miss Rebecca Naomi Rhoads.
Young Women's Unions: (1877) Committees: Miss Jennie F. Duty,
Mrs. Frances W. Leiter, Miss Fanny McCartney, (1879) Super-
intendents: Mrs. Frances J. Barnes. (1883) Name changed to
Young Woman's Temperance Work. (1890) Name changed to
Young Woman's Work. (1892) Name changed to Young Woman's
Branch, General Secretary, Mrs. Frances J. Barnes, Mrs. Ella A.
Boole, Miss Clara Parrish, Mrs. Cora E. Seberry, Miss Rhena E.
G. Mosher. (1910) Name changed to Young People's Branch, Mrs.
Ross Hayes Schachner, Mrs. Mary Anderson Crawford, Mrs. Maude
B. Perkins.
High points of second decade: Progress in educational lines in
the public schools and in the Sunday Schools. Increase in member-
ship resulting from larger number of organizers, lecturers and
state presidents in the field. An intersphering with white ribbon
leaders of other lands.
Third Decade: 1894-1904
1895 National W. C. T. U. opened headquarters at Washington,
D. C. Mrs. Margaret Dye Ellis appointed resident National
Legislative representative.
1896 Great relief measures for American refugees, instituted by
Frances E. Willard and Lady Henry Somerset; generously re-
sponded to by many states.
1896 Twenty organizers and eight lecturers listed under the depart-
ment of Otganization.
1897 World's W. C. T. U. convention held in Toronto, Canada;
followed by National W. C. T. U. convention in Buffalo, New
York — the last convention over which Frances Willard pre-
sided. Distinguished foreign guests present.
1898 Passing onward of Frances E. Willard, February 17. Mrs.
Lillian M. N. Stevens assumed presidential duties.
1898 Lillian M. N. Stevens elected president at National W. C. T. 17.
convention, at St. Paul, Minnesota.
253
Women Torc h - b e arer s
1898 Frances E. Willard Memorial Fund established for the purpose
of organizing and extending National W. C. T. U. activities.
1899 Silver Anniversary convention of National W. C. T, U. held
in Seattle, Washington.
1899 Hon. John D. Long, Secretary of Navy, issued orders pro-
hibiting the use by enlisted men of alcoholic liquors.
1900 Removal of National W. C. T. U, Headquarters from Chicago
to Evanston.
1900 National W. C. T. U. convention held in Washington, D, C.
Large influence on pending bills in Congress exerted at hear-
ings by W, C. T. U. leaders. Sentiment made for the Anti-
Canteen bill.
1901 Anti-Canteen bill passed by Congress.
1901 National W. C. T. U. Educational Exhibit at Buffalo, New
York, Exposition.
1902 National W. C. T. U. Exhibit at Charleston, South Carolina,
Exposition.
1903 Agitation by National W. C. T, U. for an Anti-Polygamy
amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Gain of
7,000 in membership.
1903 Bill passed by Congress prohibiting the sale of liquor in the
two Capitol Building restaurants.
1903 Large number of delegates attended the World's W. C. T. U.
convention held in Geneva, Switzerland.
1903 The Union Signal and Young Crusader owned by National
W. C. T. U. ; edited and published at National W. C. T. U.
Headquarters.
High points of third decade: Marked increase in influence on
Congress. W. C. T. U. a large factor in passage of important
bills. Plans and programs for the enlistment of children and
youth. Growth of international spirit.
Fourth Decade: 1904-1914
1904 National W. C. T. U. exhibit at St. Louis Exposition received
medal.
1905 Statue of Frances E. Willard unveiled in Statuary Hall, in
Capitol, Washington, D. C. Appropriate ceremonies held in
Senate and House, by Congress.
254
Appendix: Chronological Su m m a r y
1905 National W. C. T. U. Exhibit, at Portland, Oregon, received
prize medal.
1906 World's W. C. T. U. convention held in Boston, Massachu-
setts.
1906 At National W. C. T. U. convention, treasurer reported 13,000
new^ members.
1909 Estimated by national president, Mrs. Stevens, that one-half
the people live in saloonless territory. Great National Prohi-
bition program broadcasted.
1910 World's W. C. T. U. Convention held in Glasgow, Scotland.
1910 National W. C. T. U. Literature Building erected in Evanston,
Illinois.
1911 W. C. T. U. delegates appointed by government to attend An-
ti-Alcoholic Congress at The Hague, Holland.
1911 Resubmission campaign in Maine. Prohibition retained in state
constitution.
1911 Proclamation by Mrs. Lillian M. N, Stevens for National Con-
stitutional Prohibition.
1911 Bill for National Constitutional Prohibition introduced into
Congress by Captain Richmond Pearson Hobson.
1913 World's W. C. T. U. convention held in Brooklyn, New York,
followed by National W. C. T. U, convention at Asbury Park,
New Jersey.
High points of the fourth decade: Increase in membership;
progress in department work; the sending out of twelve white-
ribbon missionaries; and the larger financial returns received
from life and memorial memberships in the World's W. C. T. U.
Fifth Decade: 1914-1924
1914 Passing of Lillian M. N. Stevens on April 6. Anna A.
Gordon assumed duties of president.
1914 Anna A. Gordon elected president National W. C. T. U., at
convention held in Atlanta, Georgia,
1914 Lillian Stevens Legislative Fund established.
1914 Definite plans and programs for a campaign for National Con-
stitutional Prohibition adopted.
1914 Huge W. C. T. U. petition for National Constitutional Prohi-
bition, presented to Congress. Large petition for National Con-
stitutional Prohibition, representing Sunday School scholars of
255
Women Torc h - b e arer s
all grades, sent by the national Sunday School superintendent,
Mrs. Stella B. Irvine, to Congress.
1915 Grand gold medal awarded National W. C. T. U. for its
exhibit at Panama-Pacific Exposition, in San Francisco.
1915 National president at Seattle convention proposed appointment
of committee to inaugurate plans for a suitable celebration of
the fiftieth anniversary of the National W. C. T. U. in 1924.
1916 State and Interstate conferences held. Anti- Alcohol exhibits
featured.
1917 Organization of the National W. C. T. U. War Work Com-
mittee. National W. C. T. U. at the front in expenditure and
activities for the safeguarding, comfort and mothering of
soldiers and sailors. Three thousand French war orphans
adopted. National W. C. T. U. superintendent received medal
from French government — for distinguished service.
1917 Hon. Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the Navy, issued orders
prohibiting the use of alcoholic liquors by officers of the navy.
1917 September 8, Prohibition in the District of Columbia went into
effect. National and District W. C. T. U. led in the campaigns
that secured this victory.
1917 Anti-Advertising and Bone Dry law passed the Congress. For
years the National W. C. T. U. worked for this law.
1917 Congress prohibited the use of foods for malt and vinous liquors,.
1917 Submission to the states of the Eighteenth Amendment. Leaders
of the W. C. T. U. were present December 17, 1917, in the
House of Representatives, when the resolution providing for
National Constitutional Prohibition passed by a more than two-
thirds majority — the vote being 282 for and 126 against. The
Senate concurred.
1918 War Prohibition Act passed. Became effective July 1, 1919.
1918 Mrs. Margaret Dye Ellis having resigned after twentj''-four
years of service, Mrs. Lenna Lowe Yost was elected National
W. C. T. U. Legislative representative. At the headquarters
in Washington, D. C, there are filing cabinets containing cards
on which, by Congressional Districts, the name of each W. C.
T. U. member is enrolled.
1918 W. C. T. U. memorial to the President, asking for food con-
servation, prohibiting the use of foodstuffs in the manufacture
256
Appendix: Chronological Summary
of alcoholic liquors, signed by 6,000,000 women, including other
women's organizations; assembled by National W. C. T. U.
Legislative representative.
1918 November 11, World War Armistice. Third proclamation for
world prohibition issued.
1918 National W. C. T. U. maintained resident hospital mothers in
reconstruction hospitals. Generous gifts for the wounded boys
and the National W. C. T. U. hospital reception room received
from state and local unions.
1918 (In chapter on Patriotism and War Prohibition, see summary
of war activities and war funds.)
1919 January 16, the thirty-sixth state ratified the bill for National
Constitutional Prohibition.
1919 January 29, proclamation declaring the ratification of the Prohi-
bition Amendment to the Federal Constitution. The pen first
used in signing the proclamation presented by Acting Secretary
Polk to the president of the National W. C. T. U.
1919 Plan of national president for five-year intensive campaign in
preparation for the celebration of Jubilee year, 1924, adopted
at St. Louis convention.
1920 January 16, National Prohibition became operative. Lillian
Stevens Legislative Fund Day created.
1920 The Congress proclaimed adoption of the Nineteenth Amend-
ment to the Constitution of the United States, giving the ballot
to women.
1920 W. C. T. U. department of Franchise merged into Christian
Citizenship.
1920 First World's W. C. T. U. convention following war held in
London in April. At the close of the convention the National
W. C. T. U. president, Anna A. Gordon, commissioned by the
National W. C. T. U., accompanied by Miss Julia F. Deane,
editor The Union Signah made a European survey for the
establishment of work already organized, and the extension in
other lands of the W. C. T. U.
1921 National W. C. T. U. sent out a proclamation to women ot
America, inviting every woman to join and co-operate in the
broad-gauged program of the W. C. T. U.
257
Women Torc h- b e arer s
1921 Series of regional conferences held in ten cities: New York,
Pittsburg, Chattanooga, Chicago, Omaha, Boise, Seattle, Los
Angeles, Denver, Kansas City (Missouri).
1921 National W. C. T. U. president, accompanied by Miss Julia
F. Deane, made W. C. T. U. survey in South America.
1921 Conference For Disarmament held in Washington, D. C.
Madame Yajima of Japan presented by the president of the
National W. C. T. U. to President Harding at the White
House. Madame Yajima brought a Peace Petition signed by
thousands of Japanese women.
1921-1922 National W. C. T. U. Publishing House greatly en-
larged, furnishing well-equipped, commodious headquarters for
the administrative, editorial, literature and business offices of
the National W. C. T. U.
1922 National W^. C. T. U. president made survey of work in
Mexico, and strengthened existing organizations.
1922 World's and National W. C. T. U. convention held in Phila-
delphia, Pennsylvania. Co-operation with church and allied
temperance forces for the enforcement of the Volstead Code,
and allegiance to the Constitution.
1923 Co-operation with governmental and other great associations.
1923 In Columbus, Ohio, at national convention, Jubilee celebration
of Woman's Crusade. Motto: Allegiance to the Constitution.
1923 Jubilee celebration of Women's Crusade. Motto: Allegiance
to the Constitution.
1923 Anniversary celebration at Cleveland, Ohio, under Natlonai
W. C. T. U. auspices, of November 18, 1874, date of organiza-
tion of National W. C. T. U.
1924 Large increase in membership and Jubilee Fund.
1924 National W. C. T. U. held Jubilee celebrations in fifty cities;
states held similar victorious demonstrations.
1924 National W. C. T. U. held celebration December 23, at Hills-
boro, Ohio, in honor of Crusaders.
1924 National W. C. T, U. Day at Chautauqua, New York, August
16; Jubilee anniversary celebrated in Amphitheater.
1924 Jubilee convention held in Chicago, Illinois. Large reception
held at National W. C, T. U. Headquarters in Evanston, 111.
High points of fifth decade: National W. C. T. U. War
258
Appendix: Chronological Summary
Work Committee organized. W. C. T. U. exerted great
influence for prohibition, patriotism and peace, and protection
and benefit of soldiers and sailors.
Victory for National Prohibition by the enactment of the Eigh-
teenth Amendment to the Federal Constitution. Passage of
the Nineteenth Amendment giving women the ballot.
Jubilee celebrations of Crusade in Hillsboro, Cleveland and
Columbus, and a large number of Jubilee historic W. C. T. U.
celebrations by National W. C. T. U. and state unions. Jubilee
convention in Chicago and Jubilee reception at National W.
C. T. U. Headquarters in Evanston, Illinois.
NATIONAL W. C. T. U. GENERAL OFFICERS
(1874-1924)
The foUovi'ing notable list of National W. C. T. U. General Offi-
cers is of historic interest:
Presidents: Annie Wittenmyer, 1874-1879; Frances E. Willard,
1879-1898; Lillian M. N. Stevens, 1898-1914; Anna A. Gordon, 1914-.
Vice-Presidents: Lillian M. N. Stevens, 1895-1898; Anna A. Gor-
don, 1898-1914; Ella A. Boole, 1914—.
Corresponding Secretaries: Frances E. Willard, 1874-1877; Mary
T. Burt, 1877-1880; Caroline B. Buell, 1880-1894; Mary A. Wood-
bridge, 1894-1895; Katharine Lent Stevenson, 1895-1898; Susanna M.
D. Fry, 1898-1908; Frances P. Parks, 1908—.
Assistant Corresponding Secretaries: Sarah K. Bolton, 1876-1877;
Louise S. Rounds, 1877-1878.
Recording Secretaries: Mary C. Johnson, 1874-1878; Mary A.
Woodbridge, 1878-1894; Clara C. Hoffman, 1894-1907; Elizabeth
Preston Anderson, 1907 — .
Assistant Recording Secretaries: Mary T. Burt, 1875-1877; Mary
A. Woodbridge, 1877-1878; Caroline B. Buell, 1878-1880; Lillian M.
N. Stevens, 1882-1895; Frances E. Beauchamp, 1895-1905; Elizabeth
Preston Anderson, 1905-1907; Sara H. Hoge, 1907—.
Treasurers: Mary B. Ingham, 1874-1875; Abbie F. Leavitt,
1875-1878; Esther Pugh, 1878-1894; Helen M. Barker, 1894-1905;
Harriet W. Brand, 1905-1909; Elizabeth P. Hutchinson, 1909-1915;
Margaret C. Munns, 1915—.
259
Women Torc h - b barer s
STATE W. C. T. U. PRESIDENTS
(1924)
The State Presidents are ex-officio vice-presidents of the National
W. C. T. U. A list of those in office in 1924, follows: Alabama,
Mrs. Mary T. Jeffries; Alaska, Mrs. Cornelia T. Hatcher;
Arizona, Mrs. Leora L. Brewer; Arkansas, Mrs. Minnie U. Ruther-
ford-Fuller; California (North), Mrs. Addie Garwood Estes; Cali-
fornia (South), Mrs. Eva C. Wheeler; Colorado, Mrs. Adrianna
Hungerford; Connecticut, Mrs. Mary B. Wilson; Delaware, Mrs.
Georgia G. Pierce; District of Columbia, Mrs. Emma San-
ford Shelton; District of Columbia, No. 2, Mrs. Alma J. Scott;
Florida, Miss Minnie E. Neal; Georgia, Mrs. Leila A. Dillard;
Idaho (North), Mrs. Jennnie Cross; Idaho (South), Dr. Emma F. A.
Drake; Illinois, Miss Helen L. Hood; Indiana, Mrs. F^^lizabeth T.
Stanley; Iowa, Mrs. Ida B. Wise Smith; Kansas, Mrs. Lillian M.
Mitchner; Kentucky, Mrs. J. H. Spilman; Louisiana, Mrs. Alice C.
McKinney; Maine, Mrs. Althea G. Quimby; Maryland, Mrs. Mar}^
R. Haslup; Maryland, No. 2, Mrs. Margaret Peck Hill; Massachu-
setts, Mrs. Alice G. Ropes; Michigan, Mrs. E. L. Calkins; Minneso-
ta, Mrs. Josephine E. Sizer; Mississippi, Mrs. W. E. Sigler; Missouri,
Mrs. Nelle G. Burger ; Montana, Mrs. W. C. Dawes ; Nebraska, Mrs.
Lela G. Dyar; Nevada, Mrs. Maude C. Edwards; New Hampshire,
Mrs. Charline M. Abbott ; New Jersey, Mrs. Eva E. Gebhardt ; New
Mexico, Mrs. Anna W. Strumquist ; New York, Mrs. Ella A. Boole ;
North Carolina, Mrs. T. Adelaide Goodno ; North Dakota, Mrs. Eliza-
beth Preston Anderson ; Ohio, Mrs. Florence D. Richard ; Oklahoma,
Mrs. Josephine M. Buhl ; Oregon, Mrs. Mary L. Mallett ; Pennsylva-
nia, Mrs. Ella M, George; Philippines, National W. C. T. U. repre-
sentative, Miss Marguerite Hewson ; Porto Rico, Mrs. Edith Irvine
Rivera; Rhode Island, Mrs. Ethelyn H. Roberts; South Carolina, Mrs.
Joseph Sprott; South Carolina, No. 2, Mrs. L. A. J. Moorer; South
Dakota, Mrs. Flora A. Mitchell; Tennessee, Mrs. Minnie Allison
Welch ; Texas, Mrs. Claude De Van Watts ; Utah, Mrs. D. W. Jen-
kins; Vermont, Mrs. Elsie Pease Barney; Virginia, Mrs. Sara H. Hoge ;
Washington (East), Miss Edith G. Whiting; Washington (West).
Mrs. Lillian M. Vincent ; West Virginia, Mrs. Olive C. Barnes ; Wis-
consin, Mrs. Annie W. Warren ; Wyoming, Rev. Minnie Fenwick.
260
Appen dix: C hr onological Summary
W. C. T. U. TERRITORIAL SERVICE
In the new territorial possessions of the United States, W. C. T. U.
women have done valiant service. Their names are well known. For
many years Mrs. Cornelia Templeton Hatcher has been the president
and strong staff of the Alaska territorial union. In the Philippines,
the National W. C. T. U. representative is Miss Marguerite Hewson.
Miss Consuelo Valdez is the youthful W. C. T. U. organizer. Por-
to Rico is well officered. The president is Mrs. Edith Irvine Rivera.
Mrs. Abbie B. Hillerman has made the W. C. T. U. well known
in the Canal Zone. Mrs. Mary S. Whitney's gracious hospitality to
early World's W. C. T. U. travelers, as they journeyed by way of
Honolulu, commands the sincere gratitude of the World's and National
W. C, T. U. membership. For many years Mrs. Whitney was pres-
ident of the Hawaii W. C. T, U. when it was an auxiliary of the
world's union. In later years she has been an active promoter of the
temperance cause in these beautiful islands of the Pacific,
EDITORS OF STATE PAPERS
Inestimable help has been rendered through the state W. C. T. U.
official papers. The list of editors (1924) is as follows: Mrs. M. W.
Alderson (Montana), Mrs. Olive C. Barnes (West Virginia), Mrs.
Leora L. Brewer (Arizona), Mrs. Nelle G, Burger (Missouri), Mrs.
August Burghard (Georgia), Mrs. Effie B. Clement (Virginia), Mrs.
Elizabeth D. Collins (Tennessee), Mrs. Mary M. Coman (Califor-
nia S.), Mrs. E. B. Dickenson (New Jersey), Mrs. Maria J. Earle
(Rhode Island), Mrs. Minnie Fenwick (Wyoming), Miss Edith P.
Flanders (New Hampshire), Mrs. Ada B. Frisbee (Massachusetts),
Mrs. Ida S. Gage (Washington East), Mrs. Alice R. Gossage (South
Dakota), Miss A. V. Grosh (Pennsylvania), Mrs. Emma W. Grover
(Kansas), Miss Rozette Hendrix (Minnnesota), Mrs. Claudia High-
tower (Texas), Miss Helen L. Hood (Illinois), Mrs. Adrianna Hun-
erford (Colorado), Mrs. D. J. Huse (Vermont), Miss Julia Hutch-
inson (Wisconsin), Mrs. Mary Jeffries (Alabama), Mrs. Gertrude
Stevens Leavitt (Maine), Mrs. Mary L. Mallett (Oregon), Miss Mary
Helen McLean (California North), Mrs. Luella F. McWhirter (In-
diana), Miss Rebecca T. Miller (Maryland), Mrs. J. L. Mims (South
Carolina), Mrs. Norma F. Mudge (Michigan), Mrs. W. L. Nicholson
(North Carolina), Mrs. Mabel Perkins-Dean (Florida), Mrs. Ludie
261
Women Torc h- b e arers
Day Pickett (Kentucky), Mrs. Jennnie Carr Pittman (Arkansas), Mrs.
R. M. Pollock (North Dakota), Mis§ Margaret Sloat (New York),
Mrs. Mary Isabella Smith (Iowa), Mrs. Mae Thompson (Oklahoma),
Miss Consuelo Valdez (Philippines), Mrs. Lucy E. Van Kirk (Ohio),
Mrs. Harriet Vance (Nebraska), Mrs. Lillian M. Vincent (Washing-
ton West), Mrs. Mary E. Welles (Connecticut).
MEMBERS EMERITUS OF THE NATIONAL W. C. T. U.
Mrs. A. S. Benjamin, Michigan; Mrs. Caroline B. Buell, Connecti-
cut; Mrs. Helen L. Bullock, New York; Mrs. Margaret Dye Ellis,
New Jersey ; Mrs. Maude L. Greene, New Mexico ; Mrs. Elizabeth M.
Haughton, Texas; Mrs. Mary F. Lovell, Pennsylvania; Rev. Eugenia
St. John Mann, California; Mrs. M. W. Newton, Virginia; Mrs.
S. L. Oberholtzer, Pennsylvania; Mrs. Helen G. Rice, California;
Miss Annie Robbins, Florida; Miss May Russell, Mississippi; Mrs.
Anna R. Simmons, South Dakota; Miss Jennie E. Smith, District of
Columbia ; Mrs. Lurenda B. Smith, Kansas ; Mrs. Marcia A. B. Smith,
Wisconsin; Mrs. Dorcas J. Spencer, California; Mrs. Ella Hoover
Thacher, New Jersey; Mrs. Mary D. Tomlinson, New Jersey; Mrs.
Sena Hartzell Wallace, Kansas; Mrs. Mary J. Weaver, New York;
Rev. Emily C. Woodruff, New York; Mrs. Mae Laverell Woods,
Missouri.
ORGANIZERS AND FIELD WORKERS
(1874-1924)
(Alphabetically Arranged)
During four decades not only elected organizers and lecturers, na-
tional and state, awakened public sentiment against the use of alcoholic
liquor, but many other W. C. T. U. officials, including the state presi-
dents, were much of the time in the field. On Sundays, in union church
services, they reached hundreds and thousands of people. The follow-
ing partial list of state presidents, organizers, lecturers and evangelists
of the early years, while gathered from incomplete records, form an
Honor Roll of which the Woman's Christian Temperance Union is
justly proud:
Mrs. S. C. Acheson, Mrs. McVean Adams, Miss Emma Alexander,
Mrs. M. J. Aldrich, Dr. Mary Wood Allen; Mrs. J. B. Ammerman,
Mrs. Mary Frances Willard Anderson Crawford, Mrs. Anna Angier,
262
Appendix: Chronological Summary
Miss Lucy E. Anthony, Mrs. Florence E. Atkins, Mrs. Mary A. Bab-
cock, Mrs. Nelly H. Bailey, Mrs. L. E. Bailey, Mrs. Ruth Baker, Mrs.
M. E. Balch, Mrs. Sunamerfield Baldwin, Madame Layyah Barakat,
Miss Mary E. Barbour, Rev. Alice S. N. Barnes, Mrs. Carrie Barr, Mrs.
W. D. Barnett, Mrs. Josephine C. Bateham, Mrs. Marion B. Baxter,
Mrs. Daisy E. Beaty, Mrs. L. M. Beck, Mrs. H. E. Beckley, Mrs.
Helen Coffin Beedy, Mrs. Anna S. Benjamin, Miss Margaret Bilz,
Mrs. Sarah H. Black, Miss Alice Stone Blackwell, Mrs. Suessa Blaine,
Mrs. Ellen A. Dayton Blair, Mrs. Lucy S. Blanchard, Mrs. E. F.
Blanks, Miss Mary A. Blood, Mrs. E. C. Bodwell, Rev. Edith Hill
Booker, Mrs. Sarah Knowles Bolton, Rev. May J. Borden, Mrs. Em-
ma Bourne, Mrs. A. S. Bowen, Miss Rose Bower, Mrs. Elizabeth
Boynton, Mrs. John C. Brady, Miss Marie C. Brehm, Miss Ella
Broomell, Mrs. Alice C. Brown, Mrs. Ella W. Brown, Mrs. Hen-
rietta Brown, Mrs. Sterling N. Brown, Mrs. Sue Uhl Brown, Mrs.
Wilhemina Brown, Mrs. Caroline B. Buell, Mrs. A. B. Buckley,
Mrs. Helen L. Bullock, Mrs. Emily U. Burgess, Miss C. S. Burnett,
Mrs. E. S. Burlingame, Mrs. Mary T. Burt, Miss Anna Buswell,
Mrs. N. P. J. Button, Mrs. Minnie Byrd, Mrs. A. A. W. Cad-
wallader, Mrs. Anna Sneed Cairns, Mrs. E. L. Calkins, Mrs. Vie
H. Campbell, Mrs. L. D. Carhart, Mrs. Adelia E. Carman, Mrs.
Carrie Lee Carter, Mrs. Emma Cash, Miss Caroline Caswell, Mrs.
Emma E. Caulk, Mrs. Fannie D. B. Chase, Mrs. Lydia M. Chase,
Mrs. Rebecca B. Chambers, Mrs. Sallie F. Chapin, Mrs. Rose Wood
Allen Chapman, Mrs. Nettie R. Chipp, Mrs. Fannie L. Chunn, Mrs.
Abbie F. B. Church, Mrs. Annie W. Clark, Mrs. Fannie Clark,
Mrs. Dorothy J. Cleveland, Miss Ida Clothier, Dr. Eliza Cook,
Mrs. E. M. J. Cooley, Mrs. Mary E. Cartland, Mrs. Delia C. H.
Cox, Mrs. Varila Cox, Mrs. Mar}^ Grant Cramer, Mrs. C. E. Craven,
Mrs. E. D. Crawford, Mrs. Frances Crooks, Mrs. M. L. Cummings,
Mrs. Mary H. Curlee, Mrs. Nannie Webb Curtis, Mrs. William E.
Currah, Mrs. Annie G. Darley, Mrs. Gratia E. Davidson, Miss
Rose A. Davison, Mrs. E. M. J. Decker, Mrs. Ellen K. Denney,
Mrs. William Jennings Demorest, Mrs. Lucy Van Deventer, Mrs.
Emma G. Dietrick, Miss Eula Dixon, Miss Cornelia M. Dow, Mrs.
Sarah J. Dorr, Mrs. Mildred A." Dorsey, Miss Clara M. Doughtj^
Miss Anna Downey, Mrs. J. C. Downs, Dr. Emma F. A. Drake,
Mrs. Marion H. Dunham, Mrs. L. B. Dyer, Mrs. S. J. H. Early,
263
Women Torc h- b barer s
Mrs. Charleton Edholm, Miss Esther H. Elfreth, Mrs. R. A. Em-
mons, Mrs. E. L. Evans, Mrs. F, S. Evans, Mrs. Emma P. Ewing,
Mrs. Carrie C. Faxon, Mrs. Catharine E. Ferguson, Mrs. Susan S.
Fessenden, Mrs. Cornelia B. Forbes, Mrs. Frances H. Ensign Fuller,
Mrs. A. A. Garlock, Dr. Carolyn Geisel, Mrs. Annette A. Gib-
son, Rev. M. Cammack Gibson, Dr. Myra A. Gillette, Mrs. M. E.
A. Gleason, Mrs. Mary Read Goodale, Miss Elizabeth H. Goodwin,
Miss Elizabeth P. Gordon, Mrs. Evalyn Graham, Mrs. Frances W.
Graham, Mrs. Mattie Graves, Mrs. E. G. Greene, Mrs. Maude L.
Greene, Miss E. W. Greenwood, Mrs. Elizabeth Grice, Miss Frances
E. Griffin, Mrs. Hester T. Griffith, Mrs. Minnie Johnson Grinstead,
Mrs. Caroline F. Grow, Mrs. Sophie F. Grubb, Miss Alice M.
Guernsey, Mrs. Harriet D. Hall, Mrs. Mary Hadley Hall, Mrs.
Anna M. Hammer, Mrs. Cora D. Hammett, Mrs. Helen D. Harford,
Mrs. F. E. W. Harper, Mrs. Laura E. Harsha, Mrs. Edna Rowan
Harvey, Mrs. Mary Haslup, Mrs. E. M. Haughton, Miss Mollie G.
Hay, Mrs. Bettie Pace Hayes, Mrs. Alice C. Hays, Mrs. J. H. Haynes,
Mrs. A. A. Hawley, Mrs. F. B. Heald, Miss Harriet Henderson, Miss
Rozette Hendrix, Mrs. S. M. I. Henry, Mrs. Nettie P. Hershiser,
Mrs. Nina W. Higby, Mrs. Eva Higgins, Mrs. Abbie B. Hiller-
man, Miss Margaret T. Hillis, Mrs. Jessie Brown Hilton, Mrs. M.
A. Hitchcock, Rev. Alice B. Hoag, Mrs. H. A. Hobart, Mrs. Clara
C. Hoffman, Mrs. Mary E. Haggart, Mrs. Susan Holbrook, Mrs.
H. E. Hollingshead, Mrs. Silena Moore Holman, Mrs. Rhena Mosher
Holyoke, Miss Helen L. Hood, Mrs. Mary E. Hopper, Miss Auretta
Hoyt, Mrs. Esther T. Housh, Mrs. Callie E. Howe, Mrs. Mary
Seymour Howell, Mrs. Laura E. Howey, Mrs. George S. Hunt,
Mrs. C. E. Hunt, Mrs. Dora Hull, Mrs. Etta B. Hurford, Mrs. Allie
Updyke Hutchinson, Mrs. Jean McArthur H3'de, Mrs. E. B. Ingalls,
Mrs. Neal B. Inman, Miss Ella G. Ives, Miss Emma Jones, Miss
Winona R. Jewell, Mrs. Jane A. Johnson, Mrs. Frances A. Jones, Mrs.
Mary H. Jones, Mrs. R. H. Jones, Mrs. Frances A. Joseph, Miss
Belle Kearney, Mrs. Dr. J. H. Kellogg, Mrs. Jennie M. Kemp, Mrs.
Mary A. Kenney, Mrs. M. L. Kenyon, Mrs. Belle C. Kimball, Miss
Addie M. Kinnear, Mrs. Jane M. Kinney, Mrs. Georgia Swift
King, Mrs. Narcissa White Kinney, Mrs. J. H. Knox, Mrs. E. J.
Knowles, Rev. Mary E. Kuhl, Mrs. Imogene F. LaChance, Mrs.
264
Appendix: Chronological Summary
Sarah D. LaFetra, Mrs. Isabel Wing Lake, Mrs. Effie M. Lambert
Lawrence, Mrs. E, Norrine Law, Mrs. W. A. Lawson, Mrs. Caroline
A. Leech, Miss Carolyn Leech, Mrs. Frances W. Leiter, Mrs. Lilah
D. Lindsey, Mrs. Nora P. Linville, Mrs. Mary F. Lovell, Mrs.
W. A. Loyne, Mrs. Lora La Mance, Miss Permelia C. Mahan, Rev.
Eugenia F. St. John Mann, Miss Elizabeth March, Mrs. Lulu A.
Markwell, Mrs. B. Emma Marshall, Miss Mary H. Mather, Mrs.
Emilie D. Martin, Mrs. G. W. Martin, Miss Mary C. McClees,
Mrs. G. H. McLeod, Mrs. Mabel L McCrea, Mrs. A. P. McDonald,
Mrs. Emily McLaughlin, Mrs. Luella F. McWhirter, Mrs. Amelia
Mentz, Mrs. Lide Meriwether, Mrs. Caroline E. Merrick, Mrs. J. C.
Mitchell, Mrs. R. Mitchell, Mrs. Sarah Mitchell, Mrs. Henrietta L.
Monroe, Mrs. M. L. Montgomery, Miss Alice H. Moore, Miss E.
C. Moore, Miss Henrietta G. Moore, Mrs. Lila Carlin Moore, Mrs.
Vina D. Moore, Mrs. Cornelia Moots, Rev. Mary L. Moreland, Miss
Jessica Morgan, Miss Ellen D. Morris, Mrs. N, R. C. Morrow, Mrs.
Amy Kellogg Morse, Mrs. L. S. Mount, Mrs. Nannie Munell, Mrs.
Margaret C. Munns, Mrs. K. EUett Murrow, Mrs. Kate F. Newton,
Mrs. M. W. Newton, Mi§s E. P. Nichols, Mrs. J. R. Nichols, Mrs.
L. A. Northrup, Mrs. S. C. Nutter, Mrs. Ora Oakes, Mrs. S. L.
Oberholtzer, Mrs. M. J. O'Connell, Miss Lillie O'Daniel,
Mrs. J. S. Ogden, Mrs. Otis, Mrs. Annie M. Palmer, Rev.
Alice R. Palmer, Miss Emma Page, Miss Mary S. Page,
Mrs. Julia R. Parish, Mrs. Frances P. Parks, Mrs. Katharine B. Patter-
son, Mrs. T. E. Patterson, Mrs. S. A. Pearson, Mrs. F. T. Pederson,
Mrs. B. Sturtevant Peet, Mrs. Sarah M. Perkins, Mrs. E. N.Peters, Mrs.
Amanda Peterson, Mrs. E. E. Peterson, Mrs. Margaret B. Piatt, Mrs.
F. C. Potter, Mrs. Esther T. Pritchard, Miss Esther Pugh, Mrs. E.
Elma Pjde, Mrs. Luella A. Ramsey, Mrs. Fannie H. Rastall, Mrs. Eva
Ratcliffe, Mrs. Ida H. Read, Miss Lodie E. Reed, Mrs. M. B. Reese,
Mrs. Ellen R. Richardson, Mrs. Kate Roach, Miss Annie A. Robbins,
Mrs. Kara Smart Root, Mrs. Louise S. Rounds, Miss May Russell.
Dr. Maude M. Sanders, Mrs. M. A. Schaffer, Mrs. A. A. Scott, Mrs.
O. W. Scott, Mrs. Alma J. Scott, Mrs. E. T. Scott, Mrs. Cora E.
Seberry, Mrs. Bessie La3'the Scovell, Miss Roena E. Shaner, Rev.
Etta E. Shaw, Mrs. Lulu L. Shepard, Mrs. Lilian A. Shepherd, Mrs.
Mary F. Shields, Miss Eva M. Shontz, Mrs. S. E. Shorthill, Miss Ethel
265
Women Torc h - b barer s
Austin Shrigley, Mrs. Jennie Hart Silbley, Mrs. W. C. Sibley, Mrs.
Jackson Silbaugh, Mrs. Anna R. Simmons, Mrs. C. M. Simpson, Mrs.
S. Wright Simpson, Mrs. Henrietta Skelton, Miss Cassie Smith, Mrs.
Clinton Smith, Mrs. Frances C. Smith, Mrs. I. N. Smith, Miss Jennie
E. Smith, Mrs. L. B. Smith, Miss Lois Smith, Mrs. Marcia A. B.
Smith, Mrs. K. E. Smithers, Miss M. Madeline Southard, Mrs. Martha
L. Spencer, Mrs. Joseph Sprott, Mrs. Ingham Stanton, Mrs. L. Jane
Stapler, Mrs. Susan J. Steele, Mrs. Emily Pitt Stevens, Mrs. Kate P.
Stewart, Miss Gabrella T. Stickney, Mrs. Helen M. Stodddard, Mrs.
Carrie Lee Carter Stokes, Miss Ellen M. Stone, Mrs. Katherine Stone,
Mrs. J. C. Stone, Mrs. M. L. Stratford, Mrs. Leila O. Stratton, Mrs.
Mary G. Stuckenberg, Mrs. Lucy A. Switzer. Mrs. Mary E. Teats,
Mrs. Mary Jewett Telford, Mrs. Ellen L. Tenney, Miss A. Elizabeth
Thomas, Mrs. Julia Thomas, Mrs. C. D. H. Thompson, Mrs. Lucy
Thurman, Miss Elizabeth Tobey, Mrs. Harriet T. Todd, Mrs. Sue V.
Tomlinson, Mrs. Mae G. Tongier, Rev. Frances E. Townsley, Mrs.
R. J. Trego, Mrs. Cora L. Trippett, Mrs. Mattie R. Turner, Mrs.
Lucie B. Tyng, Mrs. Ada Wallace Unruh, Mrs. Mary C. Upham,
Miss Mary A. Wadsworth, Mrs. Anna A. Walker, Mrs. H. D. Walker,
Miss May C. Walker, Mrs. S. M. Walker, Mrs. Sena
Hartzell Wallace, Rev. B. C. H. Washburn, Mrs. Booker T.
Washington, Mrs. Lucy H. Washington, Mrs. Kate H. Watrous,
Mrs. Mary J. Weaver, Mrs. Martha E. L. Webb, Mrs. S. H. Webb,
Mrs. Maria C. Weed, Mrs. Annie K. Weisel, Mrs. M. L. Welles,
Mrs. M. J. Wells, Miss C. R. Wendell, Dr. Ellen J. Wetlaufer, Miss
Clara Wheeler, Mrs. Dora V. Wheelock, Miss Margaret Whitechurch,
Mrs. Mary S. Whitney, Mrs. Kate E. Wilkins, Mrs. Jennie Fow^ler
Willing, Mrs. Eunice P. Wilson, Miss Margaret Wintringer, Mrs. H.
B. Wisner, Miss Lillian Wood, Mrs. Mary B. Wood, Rev. Emily C.
Woodruff, Mrs. Mae L. Woods, Mrs. Caroline M. Woodward, Mrs.
Mary C. Woody, Mrs. Clara Parrish Wright, Mrs. Mary A. Wylle,
Miss Elizabeth U. Yates, Mrs. A. C. Zehner, Mrs. Jane Eggleston
Zimmerman.
266
Appendix: Chronologica l Summary
National W. C. T. U. Annual Meetings or Annual Executive
Sessions
(1874-1924)
Cleveland, Ohio, 1874; Cincinnati, Ohio, 1875; Newark, New Jer-
sey, 1876; Chicago, Illinois, 1877; Baltimore, Maryland, 1878; In-
dianapolis, Indiana, 1879; Boston,, Massachusetts, 1880; Washington,
D, C, 1881; Louisville, Kentucky, 1882; Detroit, Michigan, 1883;
St. Louis, Missouri, 1884; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1885; Minne-
apolis, Minnesota, 1886; Nashville, Tennessee, 1887; New York, New
York, 1888; Chicago, Illinois, 1889; Atlanta, Georgia, 1890; Boston,
Massachusetts, 1891; Denver, Colorado, 1892; Chicago, Illinois, 1893;
Cleveland, Ohio, 1894; Baltimore, Maryland, 1895; St. Louis, Mis-
souri, 1896; Buffalo, New York, 1897; St. Paul, Minnnesota, 1898;
Seattle, Washington, 1899; Washington, D. C, 1900; Fort Worth,
Texas, 1901; Portland, Maine, 1902; Cincinnati, Ohio, 1903; Phil-
adelphia, Pennnsylvania, 1904; Los Angeles, California, 1905; Hart-
ford, Connecticut, 1906; Nashville, Tennessee, 1907; Denver, Colo-
rado, 1908; Omaha, Nebraska, 1909; Baltimore, Maryland, 1910; Mil-
waukee, Wisconsin, 1911; Portland, Oregon, 1912; Asbury Park,
New Jersey, 1913; Atlanta, Georgia, 1914; Seattle, Washington, 1915;
Indianapolis, Indiana, 1916; Washington, D. C, 1917; Chicago,
Illinois, Executive Committee, 1918; St. Louis, Mo., 1919; Wash-
ington, D. C, Executive Committee, 1920; San Francisco, California,
1921; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1922; Columbus, Ohio, 1923.
LEGISLATION
In addition to important Congressional legislation noted in this Ap-
pendix all important legislative measures the W. C. T. U. has aided
in securing are found in the chapter, "Legislative Achievements." A
detailed list of Congressional enactments from 1901-1924 is a mar-
velous showing of the rapid growth, during that period, of prohibition
sentiment.
HANDBOOK
The National W. C. T. U. issues, each year, a Handbook which
contains a list of officers, department directors and superintendents,
and other absolutely essential information.
267
Women Torc h - b barer s
OUR OFFICIAL ORGANS AND LITERATURE
The Union Signal^ The Young Crusader and a complete supply
of books, booklets and leaflets on the many phases of our activities can
be obtained at The National W. C. T. U. Publishing House, 1730
Chicago Ave., Evanston, Illinois.
268
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